


Broken Soul is Bleeding

by blackrose_17



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover Pairings, F/F, F/M, Ianto is just as broken as Tony, Ianto leaves Torchwood, M/M, Meantion of off screen character death, Post - Countrycide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-08-12
Packaged: 2017-12-23 07:09:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/923414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackrose_17/pseuds/blackrose_17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of Countrycide Ianto comes to the realisation that Torchwood was no longer the place for him. As he struggles to find a new life for himself Ianto is approached by Nick Fury and unexpectedly finds himself working for SHIELD. Given his past experience in working with ‘difficult’ alpha-males, he is assigned as Tony Stark's new handler; does Tony have the compassion and willingness to help heal someone whose as broken as him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Crossover big bang on livejournal. Wonderful thanks to my beta RoyalLadyEmma for all her hard work as usual and a special thanks to hollymarchosias for all her amazing art which you can find at: http://marchosias-inc.livejournal.com/6283.html, http://archiveofourown.org/works/921532 and http://marchosias-inc.dreamwidth.org/4158.html
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or The Avengers

****

**Chapter 1**

 

Every inch of Ianto’s body ached and yet, he sadly acknowledged, this was not the first time that he’d been hurt this badly. He’d been on the losing end of a savage beating on several occasions, starting when he was fourteen and he’d been caught by the estate’s resident bullies. They’d thrashed him so badly that he’d actually spent a night in hospital, all because the gang’s leader thought Ianto had been staring at his girlfriend (Ianto had actually been looking at one of the gang members, but he’d never admit it – that would have been a beating he wouldn’t have survived).

 

Then, years later, while he was working for Torchwood One, he’d been on his way to work when he’d seen an elderly woman being mugged by a couple of teen-age street thugs. Ianto had immediately stepped in, and by virtue of a lucky blow that knocked his head into a granite building and left him semi-conscious, the two boys had managed to kick the living daylights out of him before a London bobby finally arrived to break things up. Surprising the number of men and women who simply passed right by, pretending they didn’t see anything. That time he’d only ended up with a couple of cracked ribs and a broken nose; the upside was that he was the darling of the female staff who cooed and fawned over for over a week before the next gossip-worthy  thing caught their attention.

 

However, it was the first time someone had wanted to eat him, someone _human_ that is. He’d actually been on the menu as a side dish to accompany Jack, who was the main course, naturally, when the Zorvain had landed in a shepherd’s field and had captured the team to be their ‘takeaway meal’ for their return journey home. However, thanks to Owen, things took a drastic turn for the better. Destined to be the crew’s starter, the stench of the medic’s post-alcoholic-binge had caused the aliens to vomit profusely on one another.

 

It was Toshiko’s quick thinking – she was going to be their after-dinner sweet – that had ended with the team going free. She’d been able to convince the alien captain that humans were obviously not a compatible food source. _‘In fact,’_ she’d said, _‘given your violent reaction to our scent, I’d go so far as to say we’re actually toxic to your species and would probably prove fatal if you consumed us.’_ Not only had the Zorvain let them go, they’d literally thrown them off the ship into the muddy field in their haste to leave the planet.

 

As much as he’d been proud of the work he did for Torchwood One it was never considered a safe job choice for anyone and even though the personnel file that Jack had read said he had only been a junior researcher that wasn’t the whole truth. No, Ianto Jones had once been a well-trained field agent, a damn good one actually until what was supposed to have been a simple mission to retrieve a few artefacts from a black market dealer had gone horribly wrong. The dealer and his employees turned out to be Klagnagics, a very well-armed race of psychic junk peddlers who resented anyone interfering with their business deals. During the ensuing gun battle they’d used their mind-reading abilities to anticipate and counter every move the Torchwood team made and then to kidnap them all. In the end, although he’d managed to kill the aliens and save the lives of the Torchwood agents, Ianto was the only functioning member of his team to survive. Two had died in captivity, including his commander, and the other three were… well… it would have been better if they had died as well, in Ianto’s personal opinion.

 

After the accident, after the ensuing investigation, after the medical exams and the psychological evaluations, after self-recriminations and soul-searching, Ianto had requested reassignment to the Archives. It was the quietest, most benign job that Torchwood One offered, unless you counted serving chips in the Tower’s canteen. Despite his best efforts, Ianto could not bring himself to pick up a gun afterwards without seeing the horrified looks on his teams face as they were slowly tortured to insanity or death.

 

All things considered, Ianto had been the lucky one; the Klagnagics deemed him too low on the chain of command to bother wasting any time on. They’d concentrated the majority of their sadistic efforts on the team’s leader and second-in-command in hopes of gaining strategic knowledge about the contents of Torchwood’s alien artefact archives. Eager to get in on the ‘fun’, the underling who’d been charged with securing Ianto’s arms and legs hadn’t done a very good job and that oversight had spared Ianto’s life. He’d been able to free himself and retrieve not only his own weapon but one of the alien plasma rifles as well. He’d made quick work of destroying the aliens and rescuing part of his team but to his deep sorrow, he was too late to save the others.

 

After release from a mandatory week-long stay in hospital while he underwent a thorough psych eval and hours of counseling, Ianto had gone back to his flat to brood and re-examine his part in the mission. Finally, he’d come to the same conclusion that the Torchwood investigators had: while the mission results were indeed tragic, they had been unforeseeable and therefore unavoidable. Actually, what Ianto heard was, “shit happens, Jones, get over it”, but it made no difference; he was irreparably broken and he refused to entered the field after that.

 

Yvonne Hartman had carefully examined all Ianto’s test results as well as his reports on the incident and while she regretted the fact that a field agent with Ianto’s obvious potential was no longer viable as such, she hadn’t wanted to lose such a valuable worker. That’s the phrase she’d used to his face when she’d happily granted Ianto’s request to become a staff researcher; privately, she’d decided that Torchwood and The Empire had invested far too much money in Ianto’s training and now his medical care and he owed them big time. She was determined to get every penny’s worth of productivity out of him that she could no matter what job he did until he died.

 

And that was how Ianto Jones put an end to future encounters with angry aliens.

 

*********

_‘Somehow I never thought my return to field missions would be greeted by bloody cannibals!’_ Ianto fought back the bile that rose in his throat as he remembered being at the mercy of those monsters.

 

 _‘I’m the bloody butler! Why the hell did Jack bring me along when the only one who didn’t have a problem with me was Tosh?’_ Ianto fumed impotently. Since returning from his suspension Owen and Gwen had gone out of their way to ignore him. Even Jack barely spoke to him unless it was work-related; he didn’t even ask for coffee anymore, and when Ianto delivered his mug to him, Jack didn’t acknowledge it or him. No, Toshiko was the only one genuinely happy to have him back although she kept their conversations short so as not to draw Owen’s ill temper down on him.

 

In a way, Tosh’s genuine affection for him made Ianto feel a little uncomfortable and a lot guilty but more than anything else, he felt truly sorry that he’d almost gotten Tosh killed, _twice!_ First with the Cyberwoman and then today in the Brecon Beacons.

 

But the pain racking his body was nothing compared to the emotional hurt Ianto was feeling as he was completely ignored by his team, despite the fact that he’d come to expect the behaviour. He tried to rationalise it; Jack and Owen’s focus was solely on Gwen because she had been injured, but damn it all to hell, so had he! Ianto was getting angry; just because he wasn’t moaning and groaning and making a pitiful scene didn’t mean he wasn’t suffering too.

 

The left side of his body and his belly had taken most of the physical abuse from both their cannibal leader, who’d kicked him with his size-fifteen, steel-toed boots, and his despicable cow of a wife, who’s taken great pleasure in slamming the butt of a shotgun into him over and over again. His knee was about three times its normal size, his hip ached miserably, three fingers on his hand were definitely broken, he could barely see out of his left eye, and from the way red-hot pokers stabbed through his chest with every breath he took, Ianto was pretty sure he had at least one broken rib, probably more.

 

As he perched gingerly on the SUV’s rear bumper, he watched the bustling activity that ebbed and flowed all around him – around him being the key point. The constables were busy putting the cannibals in vehicles to take them away, the EMS staff were completely absorbed with Gwen and her diva performance and Jack and Owen were clearly ignoring him. The only one who’d taken the time to spare him even a brief glance was Tosh just before she was taken away by an officer to give her statement to the police.

 

Ianto ruthlessly fought back a derisive snort, knowing that it would only end up making his chest hurt him more. _‘I got fucking tenderized by these bloody bastards, I know I need medical attention, but do I even get a fucking plaster? Oh no, of course not! Miss bleeding-heart gunshot-wound drama queen is so much more important than the pathetic, waste-of-space, beaten-up Tea-Boy!’_ Ianto’s indignation got the better of him and he let loose a sharp exhalation only to instantly regret it as his chest exploded with white-hot pain, causing him to double over in agony as tears burned his eyes.

 

Breathing slowly, Ianto forced himself to calm down and relax so he could straighten up again. He wasn’t a hater by nature; he didn’t _want_ to feel so damn bitter but he just couldn’t help it. If Ianto thought he’d been invisible when he’d first started in the Cardiff Hub, it was _nothing_ compared to how invisible he became _after_ the Cyber incident; he refused to think of that _thing_ as Lisa. Realising he was heading down a dark path with those memories, he shook his head gently but resolutely; he’d put too much effort into putting that all behind him to dredge it up again, especially now.

 

As far as the members of the Torchwood Three team were concerned, he practically didn’t exist for them, well except for Tosh, that is; the others only remembered him when they were hungry, needed a file, craved coffee or in Owen’s case, demanded that clean something up, _‘…now, Tea-Boy!’_.

 

Ianto shifted position, trying to ease the pressure on his left hip and then closed his eyes as a fresh wave of pain racked his body. A small agonised hiss escaped his parted lips as he moved to stand, he couldn’t stay still any longer; he needed to move – he was afraid that if he didn’t move then he never would. Even as a small boy, Ianto had been unable to sit still for very long; he had to do something even though he knew it would be a very bad idea given the extent of his injuries. He stood on legs that trembled so badly that when he took his first few steps, he risked falling and jarring his possibly broken ribs, but at that point Ianto simply didn’t care. All he knew was that he wanted – no, he _needed –_ to put as much distance as he could between him and his unfeeling team-mates.

 

As he slowly walked away and put the hustle and bustle of activity behind him, Ianto was overwhelmed by the feeling of being trapped. He wanted so much to run far away from everyone and everything, to leave Torchwood behind. In the beginning, he’d stayed to save Lisa and when that obligation was gone, he’d stayed on as a penance for Annie’s death. Despite the fact that he’d been ignored and taken for granted from the first day he set foot inside the Hub, he still harboured a small hope that one day he would be accept as an equal part of the team.

 

But it didn’t matter how many cups of perfectly brewed coffee he delivered without being asked, how many hot meals he had waiting when the others returned from an exhausting mission, or how many times he worked through the night to make sure every field kit was restocked, every weapon cleaned and every report filed, he was still on the outside looking in.

 

Every snide remark made behind his back but just loud enough that he heard, every team outing that didn’t included him but which was discussed at length in front of him, every trivial order rudely barked out only served to remind him that Ianto Jones was nothing more the Tea-Boy. And little by little all those negative things added up into a massive mountain of disappointment ending in an avalanche that finally destroyed his frail hope.

 

With a deep sigh, Ianto accepted the fact that no matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he wanted to belong, the others would never see him as anything but a waste of space to be used and thrown away. Ianto couldn’t help but listen to the little voice in the back of his head telling him that it was time to put Torchwood and all its blood, destruction and death behind him to be remembered as nothing but the stuff of bad-curry-induced nightmares.

 

Despite the problems at Torchwood One, there was one very important rule that had been drilled into every agent’s head: when you’re in the field you always have your team’s back no matter what and in turn you place you trust in them that they’ll do the same for you. Try as he might Ianto simply could not see himself putting that kind of trust or any faith at all into any one of the Torchwood Three members. _‘And_ I _they’ve certainly made it obvious that they won’t be putting that kind of trust in me,’_ Ianto thought bitterly as he continued to make his way slowly and cautiously towards the SUV.

 

His bitterness towards the others didn’t really surprise Ianto all that much; it had been brewing deep within him for a while now. A normal human being could only be treated like an invisible animal for so long before something snapped. Once upon a time, Ianto Jones had been a good, kind-hearted man but that was before bitterness and hate began festering in his heart. Yes, he made a mistake, yes, it was a big one and yes, it could have destroyed the world, but damn it, he was trying his best to make things right. Everything he did for the team was to try and to make up for his previous actions and he really was trying to earn their trust back. Of course, it would help if they actually gave a damn about him.

 

_‘Is it so much to ask for just one fucking thank you? Just once, that’s all I ask.’_

 

But, now, after being tenderized, after being almost killed, after nearly being _eaten_ for God’s sake, Ianto found – to his immense surprise – that he suddenly could not care less about them. It was painfully clear – no pun intended – that he was never going to truly be one of them. No matter how hard he worked to make up for his mistakes, it would _never_ be enough for them. _‘Well screw them! I’m tired of being their bloody Tea-Boy! I’m done with them and I’m done with Torchwood.’_

 

Ianto couldn’t believe how easy it was to think about leaving Torchwood behind and the sense of relief was almost euphoric, like an enormous weight off his shoulders. _‘Imagine how fast the Hub would disappear under Owen’s garbage without me to clean up after them all!’_ The mental picture of the nasty-tempered medic going down for the third time beneath a sea of pizza boxes, take-away cartons and mouldy half-eaten sandwiches made Ianto giggle hysterically. He had to stop and catch his breath before he could continue walking. 

 

 _‘Maybe it is time for a change. I am so tired of losing people I care for to idiotic causes. There’s already enough blood on my hands due to Torchwood, I want anymore.’_ Ianto was truly tired, bone-aching tired, every inch of his body hurt like he'd never felt before, and all he wanted to do was curl up in his bed and forget he was ever a part of Torchwood.

 

“Ianto?” From behind Ianto a soft voice spoke up hesitantly as though unsure if it should disturb the wounded man.

 

Ianto’s first instinct was to ignore her and keep walking, but he couldn’t bring himself to shun the only person on the team that seemed to truly care a little about him. Stopping in his tracks, the young Welshman closed his eyes, took a slow albeit pain-filled breath to calm himself down and plastered a smile on his face before he turned around.

 

“Yes, Tosh?”

 

Tosh returned Ianto’s smile shyly at and she suddenly found that she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around the young man and protect him from all the horrors she knew were out there. Unfortunately, she knew that Ianto wouldn’t like that, not in the least, so all she could do was offer Ianto her friendship, even though something was telling her that she might be too late.

 

“Jack wanted me to tell you we’re getting ready to go.” Tosh saw the hurt that flashed through Ianto’s eyes briefly and for a moment she wondered what had caused it. Then it dawned on her that Ianto felt he wasn’t even worth Jack coming over and telling him face to face. Tosh’s heart went out to her young friend and she silently cursed Jack and Owen and their ridiculous need to focus all their attention on Gwen. _‘I get that Gwen was shot but what about me? That monster tried to choke me to death! What about Ianto? He clearly got the worst of it.’_ For a moment, bitter rage surged through the normally calm Toshiko; _‘Aren’t we worth being worried over?’_

 

Tosh hated the fact that she was jealous but ever since Gwen had arrived she seemed to be all that mattered to Jack and Owen and she was tired of being an afterthought. _‘I wonder if this is how Ianto has felt all these months It must hurt to not even be worth a hello and how are you.’_ Tosh suddenly wondered if she’d ever made Ianto feel like that; _‘Oh, God, I hope not!’_ Right then and there, she vowed that she would treat Ianto better from that moment on. _'I hope that Ianto gives me the chance to fix my mistakes and give me the chance to become his friend.'_ Tosh felt a blush of shame darken her cheeks; she should have tried befriending Ianto from the moment he joined.

 

Tosh knew that she was just as much as an outcast as Ianto was; she wasn’t as outgoing as the other three so it hurt to see how easily they could open up to each other, go out to bars and be the life of the party. _‘I know what it's like to be in Ianto’s shoes and yet I still treated him like he was nothing more than a speck of dirt. Well that all changes right now!’_ Tosh vowed to herself.

 

It was only when she saw Ianto stumble and nearly fall did Tosh break herself out of her thoughts and she quickly moved to aid her injured team-mate. “I’ve got you, Ianto, just lean on me.” Seeing the way he cradled his left arm against his chest, she carefully ducked under his right shoulder, and wrapped her arm around his waist.

 

Despite the fact that he hated anyone in Torchwood seeing him weak Ianto had no choice but take Tosh up on her offer and let Tosh support him. _‘I shouldn’t have stopped moving,’_ he told himself ruefully. _‘Now I’ve stiffened up completely.’_ Together they slowly made their way to the SUV where the others were impatiently waiting for them.

 

“About bloody time, Tea-Boy; can’t you see Gwen’s been hurt or don’t you care that she’s in pain?” Owen sneered as he looked Ianto up and down. “You look like shit, by the way,” he threw over his shoulder as he turned away to open the front door for Gwen.

 

Ianto and Tosh shared a quick glance but said nothing as they silently seated themselves in the back seat of the SUV and then sat there watching with barely disguised disgust as Gwen was gingerly helped into the passenger seat by Jack and Owen. It made Ianto sick to his stomach to see how they fawned over the woman even when it was obvious to him that she was exaggerating the effects of her injuries. Tosh had to turn her eyes from the sight of Owen carefully adjusting the seat belt so it wouldn’t press too much on her wound before gently brushing Gwen’s hair back from her face; she was quick but not fast enough that Ianto didn’t see the flash of pain in her eyes.

 

Ianto felt rage fill him, not for their treatment of him, he was quite used to it by now, but for their careless treatment of Tosh. Sweet, gentle Tosh, the only one to reach out to him after he returned from his month-long suspension, the only one on the team to offer him any kind of friendship. In that moment Ianto hated Jack and Owen more than ever. _‘I think it’s time that the pushover Tea-Boy went away and the seasoned, not-to-be-messed-with former Torchwood One field agent took his place.’_ If Ianto’s jaw didn’t hurt so badly he would have let a cold smile spread across his face.

 

It was high time Ianto Jones told the others a few hard truths about themselves and then he was washing his hands of Torchwood Three. Forever.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It was a long, tense, silent ride back to the Hub. No one was in the mood to speak about their experiences, and for once Jack didn’t try to fill the silence with inane anecdotes about tentacle sex. They were all lost in their own thoughts, each replaying the horror of the nights events over and over in their minds and wondering how any soul could be that twisted to take enjoyment of another’s terror.

 

By the time they’d returned to Cardiff and Jack had pulled into Torchwood’s underground parking Ianto’s anger had begun to fade beneath an onslaught of practical reasoning – his grand-tad always said that a man was responsible for his own lot in life. _‘If I want things to change, then I have to make the…'_

 

“Oi! Tea-Boy!"

 

Ianto was yanked out of the light contemplative doze he’d managed to achieve when Owen, who was seated behind Gwen and the front passenger’s seat, reached across Tosh and punched him in the left shoulder. The blow sent searing pain shooting through Ianto’s arm and across his chest and he bit his lip until he tasted blood to stop himself from crying out. Like a freight train, Ianto’s anger came roaring back to life as Owen reminded him for his only function with the team.

 

“Why don’t you get off your lazy arse and go make the rest of us some coffee before you start cleaning out the SUV?” Owen remained totally oblivious to the agony Ianto was suffering as he focused solely on helping Gwen out of the SUV.

 

For a few moments, all Ianto could think about was the pain screaming its way through his body as he started to climb out of the SUV but when Owen’s words finally registered with him something inside of Ianto snapped. He really could not believe that it really had escaped  the doctor’s attention that he too had been badly hurt. “Go fuck yourself, Owen!” Ianto’s words were low but vehement, each one bitten off through clenched teeth. He didn’t wait to see the effect of his pronouncement; instead he turned his back on them all and began to stagger towards the door – dear God, it was so very _far_ away!

 

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Ianto in varies degrees of shock, well everyone but Tosh, that is. Only she remembered – only she’d noticed – only she cared – that Ianto was injured.

 

Halfway to the door, Ianto had to stop and catch his breath; he blinked rapidly, trying to chase away the black dots that were dancing in front of his eyes.

 

“Was that really necessary, Ianto?” Jack admonished as he wrapped his arm around Gwen’s waist and held her close.

 

Turning around slowly, Ianto’s eyes narrowed as he glared at the members of Torchwood Three. “In case it escaped your notice, _Doctor Harper_ and _Captain Jack Harkness_ , Gwen is not the only one injured. I have been fucking tenderized! My body is covered with bruises and I have broken ribs among other things. But since I’m not a _true_ member of your precious team or the one you so desperate to shag, I’m not worthy of being noticed, much less remembered!”

 

As the heart of Torchwood, Gwen felt obligated to speak up. “You’re not really hurt, Ianto, you’re just overly tired. A cup of cof… Her voice trailed off uncertainly as Ianto fixed her with a deadly withering glare.

 

“You want coffee, you go make it! And while you’re at it you can clean out the bloody SUV yourself!” Ianto snarled out in a vicious tone as he spun on his heel and moved gingerly away from the door and out of the parking garage. He knew he only had a short time left in which he could hail a taxi and head to the nearby hospital to get himself checked out before he collapsed.

 

Completely disgusted by the callous attitudes of her team-mates, Tosh shook her head at the others before running after Ianto. Her heart lurched as she thought about the man who’d so courageously sacrificed himself in order to save her life only to be so cruelly ignored all because he’d taken actions to help the woman he loved. _‘It so easy for us to pass judgement on him yet if any of us had been in Ianto’s shoes and been faced with the death of someone we love we would have done the same damn thing!’_

 

Tosh sighed deeply as she hurried along. _‘Maybe we have lost touch with our humanity but given how easily and quickly jaded Gwen is becoming I don’t think she’s the right person to help us find it again.’_

 

As she reached the street Tosh easily spotted the hunched form of Ianto waiting on the kerb to flag down a taxi and her heart went out to her broken teammate. _‘If anyone is going to remind us what it’s like to be human and to truly love someone, then that person is Ianto and now we’ve broken him.’_

 

With caution Tosh slowly approached Ianto; given his angry outburst back in the car park, she wasn’t quite sure what her reception would be. “Would you like me to give you a ride to the hospital?” she asked softly and as she stood next to him she could clearly see the enormous amount of pain lacing his face and causing a gray pallor to his skin. Her fingers itched to reach out and sooth away the tight lines that surrounded his eyes and pinched his lips into a thin slash where his mouth should be.

 

Reluctantly, Ianto turned and glanced at the woman who, if circumstances had been different, would have been a wonderful friend. The last thing he wanted to do was accept help from anyone connected with Torchwood, but at the moment, he had no choice; he was just moment from total collapse and wouldn’t that just make Owen’s day. He could just hear the medic’s nasty comments, _‘You’re not fit for anything but making coffee and taking out the bins, Tea-Boy,’_ and the mocking sneer in his voice made Ianto’s skin crawl with revulsion. 

 

Ianto looked up and down the street, but for once, there wasn’t a taxi to be seen, which left him with no choice;“If it wouldn't be too much trouble for you, I would really like that.” Ianto winced as he took a breath and his ribs screamed in pain at the action and once again, dark spots danced in front of his eyes. _‘Oh dear God, please don’t let me pass out here!’_ he begged.

 

Tosh smiled as she wrapped her arm around Ianto’s waist, taking great care not to put too much pressure on his injured ribs and together they slowly made their way towards her car. _‘We did this; we broke this gentle, caring and loving man with our cruelness.’_ Tosh couldn’t help but hate herself and especially the others for their careless and cruel treatment of Ianto; in the fall-out of Lisa’s death they had all forgotten that he was only human and that he had the same feelings as the rest of them.

 

Toshiko gently helped Ianto into her car, fastened his seat belt and hurried around to get into the driver’s seat. As she merged into traffic and drove towards nearby St. David’s hospital, neither she nor Ianto ever noticed that Cardiff’s extensive CCTV network was following their every move.

 

*****

 

Up in his office Jack watched with a heavy and shameful heart as he watched his two quiet teammates slowly make their way over to Tosh’s car and it was then that he realised just how injured Ianto was. His normally graceful sometimes even stealthy movements had been replaced by short, jerky stumbling steps. The moment Ianto had stormed out and Tosh had chased after him Jack had left Gwen in the capable hands of Owen – _‘actually, I sort of abandoned them,’_ he admitted ruefully – and headed straight up to his office. He _had_ to make sure they were okay – that Ianto was okay.

 

_‘How could I have missed the fact that Ianto was injured? I saw with my own eyes that they had him bound and gagged. I could see his eye was swollen almost shut and that he was obviously in pain! What is it about Gwen Cooper that makes me forgot about everyone else, even the Welshman I care more about than I should.’_ Jack’s shoulders slumped as hung his head in his hands; he was so ashamed of the way he been treating Ianto since Gwen arrived. _‘How could I be so blind?’_

He knew full well that everyone thought the only reason he’d hired Gwen was to sleep with her but only he knew that that couldn’t be further from the truth. The moment he’d met Gwen she had reminded him of Rose Tyler. She had Rose’s tenacity to solve a riddle and seek out the truth; they both had a zest for life that overcame obstacles in their path, and when they smiled, both Rose and Gwen’s eyes lit up. It was true that the idea of having someone like Rose in joining him at Torchwood had blinded Jack to Gwen’s faults. It was also true that it was a key factor in why Jack treated Gwen like she was something precious; he wanted to protect Gwen since he wasn’t able to protect Rose.

 

Reaching out, Jack switched the CCTV view to St. David’s car park and watched as Tosh carefully helped Ianto out of the vehicle and towards the hospital’s A&E. If anything, Ianto looked even worse now; he couldn’t straighten up and he merely shuffled his feet along, unable to pick them up any longer. At one point, they stopped walking so that Ianto could catch his breath and then, just a few feet from the entrance, Ianto stumbled and fell to one knee; even with Tosh’s help, it was obvious that he wasn’t going to get back up again. Jack was on his feet in an instant, ready to run to his aid until he realised he was in his office and they were several miles away. He slumped back into his chair with a feeling of useless despair; _‘once again, Ianto needs help and I’m nowhere around.’_

 

Out of nowhere, a man a man dashed over to Tosh, talked to her for a second and then disappeared again just as quickly. Moments later, he was back with a wheelchair and between them, he and Tosh managed to lift the stricken man up and into the chair and then while Tosh held Ianto’s hand, he pushed Ianto inside and out of Jack’s sight.

 

After staring at the view of A&E’s from door for several minutes, Jack looked up and caught his reflection in his office window; he couldn’t bear to look himself in the eye. His shame was clearly written on his face. In his mind he couldn’t bring Rose back and deep in his heart he knew that trying to replace her with Gwen was dishonouring her memory but that didn’t stop him from trying.

_‘But at what cost? I deliberately put one person above the rest of the team and stupidly let another slip completely into nothing. I can only hope that Ianto will give me a chance to make this right.’_

 

Yes, Ianto still needed to earn their trust back but on the other hand, they also needed to earn Ianto’s trust back and Jack knew that wouldn’t happen if this disaster cost them Ianto. Jack finally met his gaze in the window and acknowledged his shame. _‘Yeah and let’s not forget your own less-than-stellar treatment of Ianto_ or _that it started long before that you killed that thing in the basement. Face it, Harkness, you have a lot of work ahead of you if you’re going to make Ianto see that he’s important to not only the team but also to yourself.’_ Jack knew that this was not going to be easy; there was a lot of hurt feelings and misunderstandings between them all. it may be too late to repair the damage already done.

*****

As it turned out, Jack Harkness wasn’t the only one watching as Tosh and Ianto drove away. Agent Phil Coulson of SHIELD, carefully hidden in the shadows, watched as Toshiko Sato aided the obviously badly injured Ianto Jones, and he wondered why Harkness wasn’t the one helping the young man. Coulson smiled grimly; he knew that Fury would be very interested in this unusual development, as SHIELD had had their eye on both Torchwood agents for quite a while.

 

It was painfully obvious that the team was returning from a field mission that had gone very badly wrong and as disturbing as that fact was, it could be just the opening that SHIELD was waiting for to step forward and offer them a job. Phil couldn’t help but think it was still a long shot to convince Tosh to leave Torchwood behind; her loyalty was to Harkness and Phil had never seen any indication that that had ever wavered. But it was Ianto that Phil was watching most closely; it was quite curious that Harkness was nowhere to be seen and while he hadn’t heard all the words, Phil had heard the shouting inside the car park. It was clear from the look on Ianto’s face when he’d emerged from the building that the injured man was tired of all the death and blood that seemed to walk hand-in-hand with Torchwood. Phil knew he could use that to his advantage later on.

 

As he climbed into his hired vehicle, Phil thumbed open his mobile, pressed speed-dial 1 and when the line was answered, he switched the call to his Bluetooth. “Director Fury, I think it’s time we approach Ianto Jones about a job…” He listened closely to his boss as he slipped into traffic and began following Tosh’s car. “Yes, sir, I do; in fact, I’m on my way to the hospital right now… No, not me, sir; it’s Jones, he appears to have been badly injured while in the field and Sato is taking him there now.”

 

Phil pulled into a parking space a few spots away from Tosh’s and watched from his car as the Japanese tech manoeuvred Ianto out of the front seat and to his feet. “No, I don’t; I’m not sure we can convince Sato to leave Torchwood, but after seeing and hearing the outcome of Jones’ latest interaction with Harkness, I… Oh shit!” Coulson was out of his car in an instant and running towards the hospital’s entrance. “Hold on, sir…!”

 

Tosh looked up as Phil suddenly appeared beside her. “How can I help?” he asked her as he frowned with concern as Ianto. It was obvious that the only reason he hadn’t simply collapsed to the ground was sheer force of will. “Let me get you a chair,” and before Tosh could reply, Phil was gone again, running inside the hospital only to reappear a few moments later. “Okay, together now,” he waited until Tosh had a hold of Ianto’s arm while he wrapped his arm around Ianto’s waist and then he nodded, “One, two, three…” Together Phil and Tosh carefully lifted Ianto up from the ground and gently seated him. Without being asked, Phil took hold of the chair’s handles and as Tosh maintained a tight grip on Ianto’s hand, he pushed Ianto through the sliding doors and into St. David’s A&E.

 

Even though he could hear Nick Fury shouting in to his ear, Phil ignored the voice until he’d deposited Ianto at the Nurse’s Station and returned to the privacy of his car. “Sorry about that, sir; Jones collapsed outside the hospital and I helped Sato get him inside…” He listened for a moment and then responded, “No, I don’t think so, not at all. She was too concerned about Jones, and Jones was just in much pain to pay much attention to anything.” Phil listened again; “It was hard to tell, sir, but from what I could see, it appeared he has a lot of soft tissue damage, cracked or broken ribs, a damaged knee and perhaps a concussion. Oh, and one hell of a fancy shiner; someone got in a good punch to his left eye.” He chuckled softly, “I’d hate to see the other guy!”

 

Silence reigned for a moment inside Phil’s car. “No, sir, I didn’t but I did hear Jones muttering to himself and I caught the words ‘…never again…’ and ‘… I’m done…’ If I were a betting man, I’d say that he’s finished with Torchwood,” Coulson confidently told his boss as he spoke into his Bluetooth; “I’ll keep you apprised of the situation, sir.” His eyes never left the hospital’s front door as he waited to see if Harkness would ever show up to support the two people the SHIELD agent was sent to talk to.

 

*****

A few hours later found Tosh curled up in an uncomfortable hospital chair, holding Ianto’s hand and watching the heavily sedated man sleep. Despite Ianto’s protestations to the contrary, the doctors had insisted on keeping Ianto overnight and Tosh had immediately declared that there was no way that she was leaving her friend. She couldn’t tell the medical staff that Ianto had sacrificed himself and had allowed himself to be brutally tenderized just to give her the chance to get away.

 

Tosh stood up, stretched out her stiff muscles and then looked down at Ianto’s still body, then she adjusted his blanket and brushed his fringe from his forehead. Against the stark white of the pillow beneath his head, the mottled and swollen flesh of his black eye was an ugly reminder of everything he’d been through. “I’m going to look after you, Ianto; I’ll do my best to show you the same kindness you showed us, even though I’m one of the people who took for granted,” she promised as she reached out and squeezed Ianto’s hand. ‘And if that includes letting you leave Torchwood behind then I will do my best to watch over you still and help you find the life you so richly deserve.’


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Two Days Later_

The air in the Hub was so rich with tension that Owen could have cut it with a dull scalpel. From the isolation of his office Jack watched as Tosh completely and deliberately ignored Gwen. The former police constable was clearly agitated as she whispered to Owen; their heads were bent close together as they argued at Gwen’s desk.

 

Jack sighed with defeat and frustration at this team’s divisive behaviour. ‘Not that I can fault Tosh for being angry,’ he knew his sweet, brilliant and loyal Tosh was upset on Ianto’s behalf. _‘I should have known something was up when Gwen and Owen arrived early today, before anyone else. They’re normally the last to show up.’_

 

Marching uninvited into Jack’s office, Gwen and Owen had presented a united front when Gwen asked Jack if it wouldn’t be better for Ianto to Retcon him and give him a new life free of Torchwood. Gwen was worried about Ianto after his ordeal with the cannibals; she felt that this latest incident, coupled with the nightmare of the Cyberwoman, might have finally broken Ianto. “I think it’s for the best that we let him go.” Her unspoken message was clear as a bell: “…it’s time you got rid of him…”

 

The Torchwood leader steepled his fingers on his desk and studied his employees in silence; there was something in Owen’s eyes that made Jack seriously doubt just how much his medic truly agreed with Gwen. Jack wondered how Gwen thought Ianto would handle the massive memory loss that wiping everything Torchwood would create in the young man’s mind. He was missing two years of his own life and he hadn’t stopped looking for them yet, and with his immortality, he never would. Jack couldn’t image what the loss of four years’ worth of memories would do to Ianto. _‘I can’t – I won’t – have that on my conscience for eternity.’_

 

Before Jack had a chance to tell Gwen that he appreciated her input but Retconning Ianto hadn’t even crossed his mind that chance was taken from him when a furious Tosh entered the room and made her opinion known in no uncertain terms. No one had heard her arrive and as she went to her desk, she happened to glanced up at Jack’s office and was shocked to see that Owen and Gwen had come in before her. Suddenly afraid that something had happened to Ianto, Tosh dashed up the stairs as quickly happy as she could.

 

Tosh reached the office door just in time to catch the end of the Gwen’s heart-felt speech about Retconning Ianto and giving him a new life. Not having heard Tosh arrive, all three were stunned when from behind them a low voice hissed very dangerously, “How dare you?”

 

Jack was the first to see the clear warning in his tech genius’ eyes and wisely stayed quiet; he’d noticed Tosh’s growing protectiveness over their youngest member and he was sure she had something very impassioned to say. Having to admit he was curious, Jack thought it would be good for Gwen if she heard Tosh’s opinion on the matter.

 

Shocked and wide-eyed Gwen spun around, careful of her gunshot wound, to face a furious Tosh. Not sure what she did to piss off Tosh, Gwen sent the other woman a sickly-sweet, guilty smile. “Tosh! How are you? We didn’t hear you come in.” Have you seen Ianto today? How’s he doing? We’re all so worried about him, you know. How are you feeling after your horrifying ordeal?” It was clear from her nervous demeanour and the way she bombarded Tosh with questions that Gwen was trying to play off the damaging words she’d spoken just moments earlier.

 

Fire burned in Tosh’s dark eyes as she glared daggers at the three of them, though her expression did soften a little bit when she looked at Jack, before her eyes flew back to Gwen and then they turned to ice. “Of course you didn’t hear me, Gwen, you were too busy backstabbing Ianto!”

 

“Oh come on, Tosh, you know…” Gwen smiled again, trying to disarm Tosh’s anger.

 

“Don’t you dare ‘come on’ me! Did you know that two days ago Ianto risked his life for me! He knew he was probably going to die but he made sure I got the chance to survive. Would you have done the same, Gwen? Would you give your life so one of us could live?” Tosh looked Gwen up and down with obvious contempt. “Somehow, I don’t think so!”

 

Stunned by Tosh’s vehement outburst Gwen could only stare in open-mouthed surprise at the quiet technician. She was totally unsure of what to say to or how to calm down the enraged woman, she’d never seen Tosh display so much heartfelt emotion. Finally something occurred to Gwen as concern began to pour off her in waves. “Oh, Tosh, don’t be like that,” she gushed. “I know you like him, but surely even you can see that Ianto would be better off not remembering the horrors he’s seen. I’m only looking out for him!”

The look Tosh gave Gwen was full of pure disgust. “No, Gwen, you’re not! You want Ianto out of the way because he’s a reminder that you, our so-called ‘heart’, failed to notice that someone besides you was in pain. Ianto didn’t register with you because he’s just the Tea-Boy, yet he’s seen more horrors than anyone of us expect Jack has seen.

 

Before she could stop herself, Gwen snorted in derision. “Some of those horrors were his own fault, the evil bastard! I’m the one that almost got converted down there!”

 

Toshiko saw red and lightning flew from her eyes. “Ianto wanted to save Lisa! There was nothing evil about his actions; he did what any of us would have done in his place! Or do you not care enough about your precious Rhys to try and save his life?”

 

“Don’t you try and turn this on me!” Gwen sputtered.

 

Tosh continued as if Gwen hadn’t spoken. “Robbing Ianto of his memories of Lisa and his friends he lost would truly make us as heartless as you like to claim we are! You all make me sick.” Tosh turned on her heel and stalked out of Jack’s office.

 

As he watched her leave, Owen felt ashamed to have even considered siding with Gwen in the first place. “She’s right,” he muttered under his breath, “I would have done anything to save my Katie.” In that moment, the snarky medic came to a startling revelation about himself; he hated Ianto because he saw so much of himself in the younger man. He understood Ianto’s desperate need to save the woman he loved and he knew all too well about the soul crushing pain that Ianto was feeling because he’d failed and Lisa was still lost.

 

Looking Jack in the eye, Owen stated, “I’m with Tosh, it wouldn’t do Ianto any good to lose his memories of Lisa and the others, and it just might be the thing to permanently break him.” Owen knew Retcon had been a bad idea when Gwen suggested it but for some reason he didn’t want to explore at the moment, he was weak when it came to her and he did not like her having this kind of power over him. Shaking his head the medic quietly exited Jack’s office.

 

“Well shit, this certainly went tits up in a hurry!” Gwen bit her lower lip as she turned to face Jack; things really hadn’t gone as she’d hoped. She’d thought she was acting in Ianto’s best interests, but it was clear not everyone saw it that way. Tosh showing up when she did was a true pain in the arse, but Owen’s defection was a true shocker. _‘Can’t they see I’m just trying to do what’s best for Ianto? He’s been through so much that I think it would be merciful to give Ianto a new life free of all the pain and suffering he’s gone through.’_ Gwen just couldn’t understand why no one saw that she was only trying to help. Anxiously, she waited to hear what Jack had to say on the matter.

 

Jack sighed as he looked at his newest recruit. “Gwen, I know you think you had Ianto’s best interest at heart, but Ianto would lose everything all his memories about Lisa and their time together and I couldn’t do that to him. It would be truly heartless. If Ianto wants to be Retcon than it is his choice and only his choice to make, we do not have the right to decide something like that.”

 

Jack sighed as he looked at his newest recruit; he knew she was trying to be the heart of Torchwood, which was why he’d hired her, after all. But in the back of his mind there was a tiny voice asking, _‘Would she want to Retcon Owen if the shoe were on the other foot?’_ Finally, he said, “Gwen, I know you think you have Ianto’s best interests at heart, but if I were to Retcon Ianto he would lose _everything,_ not just his memories of Lisa and their time together and I can’t do that to him. It would be truly heartless. If Ianto wants to be Retconned then it’s his choice and only his choice to make; we do not have the right to decide something like that for him.”

 

“But Jack, he’s so young and he’s seen so much, can you honestly tell me that you don’t think he would be happier not remembering?” Gwen stuck out her lower lip and pouted at Jack as she came around to the side of his desk and perched on the corner. Hoping that if she could somehow get Jack to agree with her then the others would have no choice but to agree to Retconning Ianto, for his own good, Gwen decided to play dirty. “I thought you cared about him, Jack, but apparently I was wrong.”

 

Appalled by Gwen’s last statement, Jack narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips as he bit back a sharp retort. His temper under control, he said, “I do care about Ianto, just as I care for all of you, but that…”

 

“Well then, you have to agree with me that giving Ianto a new life would make him so much happier than he is now.” Gwen announced triumphantly. _‘I knew Jack would see things my way; that’s why he relies on me so much, because I always know what’s best.’_    

 

Jack shook his head. “No, Gwen, I don’t think he would be happier. True he wouldn’t remember the bad things that he’s endured, but he wouldn’t remember any of the good times either. There would always be a piece of him missing; all Retcon would do is leave a great gaping hole in his heart that would drive him insane seeking answers. Trust me; I know what those kinds of empty feelings can do to a person.” For a moment a dark cloud passed over Jack’s face and then he looked at Gwen. “We are _not_ Retconning Ianto and that’s the last time I want to hear you mention it again,” Jack growled with finality as his little voice asked, _‘why is_ _Gwen_ _really_ _pushing_ _this so hard?’_

 

Jack stood up, startling Gwen with the abrupt move, and looked at her with hard, cold eyes. “Gwen, why is it so important to you that Ianto be Retconned, and I want the truth this time.”

 

Gwen visibly blanched as Jack towered over her; despite the circumstances she couldn’t help but be turned on by his closeness and oh, dear lord, his scent! _‘How am I supposed to tell Jack that I’m afraid Ianto’s going to steal him away from me, that that’s why I want the bloody Tea-Boy gone!’_ Gwen wasn’t blind; she’d seen the looks that Jack cast at Ianto, and the way he’d stand in his office windows watching as Ianto went about his daily chores. He was falling for the younger man and she couldn’t lose Jack’s interest in her; he was her only key to escaping the boring and dull life that a future with Rhys offered. _‘There has got to be more than spag bol, nappies and Sunday dinners with Rhys’ mother!’_

 

Forcing a fake beguiling smile on her face Gwen met Jack’s gaze head on. “Don’t be silly, Jack, there’s no other reason except that I’m worried about my teammate; he’s been through so much in his young life and I just think he deserves better, that’s all.” She smiled oh-so-sweetly at Jack; “Well, I better get to my desk before Owen comes up here and yells at me for straining my gunshot wound.” As if to emphasise the point and remind Jack that Ianto wasn’t the only one who’d been hurt, she clasped her hand to her side and gave a wince designed to invoke sympathy. Then, with one last smile at Jack, this one a little more real than the last, Gwen took her leave.

 

Watching her leave, once again shook his head. _‘Gwen really is a lousy liar, although in truth all of them are_ except _Ianto.’_ The former conman had to admit he was actually quite impressed by Ianto’s ability to fool him; it was a skill that had served him well in the past. He acknowledged that his earlier rage toward Ianto had been very, very real but at the same time Jack couldn’t help but admire Ianto’s determination to save Lisa. _‘Tosh was right; Ianto didn’t do anything we wouldn’t have done if we were in his shoes.’_ For a moment Jack thought about Rose and what he might have done to save her but then he firmly put those thoughts back in his past where they belonged.

 

But Jack was nobody’s fool and in his gut he knew that Ianto’s time at Torchwood might well be coming to an end. He knew that both UNIT and SHIELD had been snooping around both Ianto and Tosh and Jack can’t help but wonder if they wouldn’t be happier somewhere else after all. Linking his fingers together Jack stared off into space, his eyes focused on nothing. “When are you going to make your move, Fury, and would it wiser if I let them go? Because I can’t help but think it would be better for Ianto if he got a fresh start free from Torchwood?” Jack did not want to lose Ianto but because he did care for the young archivist, he needed to do what was best for Ianto. Given how everybody but Tosh seemed to have forgotten and ignored the younger man, even more so after that abomination in the basement. For God’s sake, they’d even forgotten that the cannibals had nearly tenderized him to death!

 

Yes, maybe it would be for the best if Ianto left Torchwood before his uncaring teammates got him maimed or killed but it didn’t mean that it wouldn’t hurt any less. But Jack knew that whatever the outcome of the debacle in the Brecon Beacons, it was ultimately up to Ianto and Jack vowed to himself that he would support whatever decision the Welshman came to, even if it meant that his own heart was broken in the process.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was late in the afternoon and the tension in the Hub was still high; Gwen had spent most of the time quietly talking to Owen in hushed, furtive tones. She was determined to get him to change his mind and back her up on her new plan. She wanted them to approach Tosh as a united front and convince her to agree with them about Retconning Ianto. So far she’d had very little luck; Owen was proving to be much less malleable than he should be given the fact that she’d tried all the tricks in her arsenal to seduce him into seeing things her way.

 

“But, Owen, surely you can see that this is for Ianto’s own good! Can’t you see that Torchwood’s broken and damaged him enough?” Gwen demanded as she struggled to keep her voice in a hushed whisper. “Don’t you think he deserves better than this?”

 

Frowning deeply, Owen shook his head at Gwen. “In case you haven’t noticed, Gwen, we are _all_ a little damaged here, which doesn’t bode well for _your_ future, now does it?” he sneered at the woman. Just because he was sleeping with her didn’t mean that he was going to fall over and bow to her every whim. And he certainly wasn’t going to sugar coat what it truly meant to be a part of Torchwood; the very definition of the job meant suffering and pain.

 

Owen held up his hand when it looked like Gwen was going to speak again. “No, Gwen, the answer is no. You came in here with this naiveté that was cute at first but now it’s downright annoying. You’ve only begun to get your feet wet out in the field and you haven’t faced any of the true horrors yet. We have and they’re not pretty. Jack’s right; it’s Ianto’s decision and his alone whether or not he wishes to forget his time with Torchwood. It would be best for everybody but especially Ianto if you stopped pushing your own beliefs onto the rest of us.” He held up his hand again as her mouth opened. “I’m not done yet. Finally, it’s time you remembered that you’re the newbie here and you don’t have even a quarter of the experience we have so there’s no way you can possibly understand what Ianto has lived through.”

 

Gwen stared after Owen as he stalked off, thereby signalling the end of their conversation. She was gobsmacked by the doctor’s attitude. _‘Owen hates Ianto! He should be on my side in wanting to get rid of him!’_ Gwen couldn’t understand why suddenly everybody was on the Ianto love-train all of a sudden. Pouting mutinously, Gwen stalked over to her desk and threw herself down into her seat with a loud huff.

 

Just as she took her seat the Hub alarms began to blare and that gained everyone’s attention, even Jack came out of his office because there was only one person missing from their little group. Even so, Tosh and Gwen slid open their desk drawers, ready to pull out their handguns in an instant, and Owen popped up from the AutopsyBay with a rather lethal looking bone saw in his hand. Sure enough the heavy cog door rolled back to allow a limping Ianto access.

 

Tosh was out of her chair on her feet and over at Ianto’s side before the younger man had taken two steps into the Hub. “Ianto!” Before he could protest, she threw her arms around him and gave him a quick hug, mindful of his sore body before stepping back and looking at him closely. “Are you sure you should be here? I thought the doctor told you to rest for at least a week.” Tosh gently admonished.

 

Ianto smiled sheepishly at Tosh and bowed his head. Yes, he was still on doctor’s orders and per those orders, he should be nowhere near the Hub – those were just one of the conditions of his early release from hospital – if the attending physician had had his way, Ianto would have remained there for at least three days, just to ensure there were no unforeseen complications or undiscovered internal injuries, but Ianto Jones was nothing if not stubborn. He’d insisted on going home at the soonest possible moment with the promise that someone would be with him at all times – obviously, it was a promise he had no intention of keeping. After all, now that Lisa was dead and his co-workers were ignoring him, he really was alone in the world.

 

Ianto had waited until Toshiko was gone before checking himself out of St. David’s and he’d taken a taxi home, where he spent the rest of the evening and most of the night engaged in an internal debate. Finally, at around three in the morning, Ianto Jones made a decision, one that would alter the course of his life forever. Before he could change his mind, although that was very unlikely to happen, Ianto sat down at his computer, typed as quickly as he could with only one good working hand and then sent the document to the print button with a decisive ‘click’. That done, he shut off the lights and went to lie down although he never did fall asleep.

 

When morning came, Ianto rose, washed, dressed, made coffee and watched the news – his normal workday routine. He plucked the single sheet of A4 from the printer, signed his name to the bottom with his usual impeccable script, put it in an envelope, and addressed it to Captain Jack Harkness. He gathered his keys, his mobile, his travel mug of coffee for the drive over and the envelope; he wasn’t really up to going anywhere, but less into the lion’s den, but something told Ianto he had to do this today. As he drove the familiar streets of Cardiff, heading for Roald Dahl Plass and Torchwood’s car park, the letter of resignation seemed to burn in his back pocket, searing its words into his flesh. His mind was a roiling sea of questions: Was this the last time he would step into the Hub? Would he ever see or talk to Tosh again? Who would care for Myfanwy and make sure she got her weekly bar of chocolate? Would Jack notice that he was gone? Would he even care? Ianto didn’t have a definite answer to any of his questions, but the last two lingered in his mind even after he’d parked his car.

 

Ianto had never felt more self-conscious in his life, not even the first time he got completely naked in front of a girl. He chewed on his lip and fidgeted nervously as he looked anywhere but at Tosh, who looked like she wanted to hug him again or at Jack who had retreated to his office and was staring down at him from the window. It was so much like his first day back after his month-long suspension for the incident in the basement that Ianto momentarily considered turning around and going back home, he was that unnerved. 

 

Thinking it might be better to face Gwen and Owen first, Ianto cast his eyes onto his other two teammates he immediately noticed the looks of distrust, pity and anger that Gwen was sending him and something snapped within him. Straightening up as best he could, Ianto turned to face her head on. “All right, I get it, Gwen. I get that what I did was wrong and I am deeply sorry that you all got hurt and I know that in trying to save Lisa I endangered the whole world. I now have the blood of two people on my hands…” Ianto’s voice shook with raw emotion. “…and that is something I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life. I am haunted by Annie’s death; I see her lying in a pool of blood every time I close my eyes. But I am tired you all passing judgement over me as if you’ve never done anything in your lives. Well I’m sorry to say your hands are all as stained as mine.”

 

Everyone was startled out of their thoughts by the pure venomous tone in Ianto’s voice. It seemed that all of Ianto’s bitterness over their past treatment of him was coming to a head and they were caught fallout. Gwen and Owen stared at one another, Gwen with a surprised look on her face and Owen with a sneer twisting his lips. Above them, Jack sighed deeply as he accepted more than his fair share of the blame. 

 

Ianto winced in pain as his furious outburst put a strain on his ribs and he desperately wanted to sit down; between the walk from the car park and now the standing, his knee was throbbing fiercely. Forcing himself to calm down, he allowed a gentle smile to grace his face as he lifted his eyes to meet Tosh’s. “I want to thank you, Tosh, from the bottom of my heart; you are the only one who reached out to me when I truly needed a friend and I know that I can never repay you for your kindness or the friendship you offered me but please believe me when I say that I will always treasure my memories of you. I am truly sorry that I ended up hurting you.”

 

A sad smile caused a small downturn to Tosh’s lips and tears began to well up in her eyes; she did not like where this was going and it was breaking her heart. _‘Please don’t leave me, Ianto; we have so much good work left to do together.’_

 

Ianto’s gaze then zeroed on Gwen and his smile disappeared immediately. “You, Gwen, you’re new but you chose to treat me just like the others, like I was part of the background. You regard me as your personal servant, meant to be at your beck and call and to submit to your every whim. You never bothered to get to know me, yet you callously passed judgement on me despite the fact that on your very first day you released an alien sex gas that claimed a dozen innocent lives…”

 

“You can’t blame me for that, Ianto! That was an acci…” Gwen’s self-righteous protest died off under Ianto’s withering glare.

 

 “…but you still have the unmitigated gall to stand and judge me, like you’re so much better than me. Well I have news for you, Gwen Cooper, for a so-called bleeding heart who claims to care so much for people you’re one hell of a bitch to your team-mates. You get some kind of sadistic thrill in constantly rubbing our faces with the fact that you’re the only one with a relationship outside of Torchwood. You brag about how _happy_ you are with Rhys so tell me, Gwen, tell all of us just how happy are you _really_ when you lust after Jack like a dog in heat and sneak around behind your boyfriend’s back to sleep with Owen?” Ianto sneered derisively at Gwen. He was so damned tired of how she always thought she was just so much better than the rest of them when her faults were equal to theirs.

 

“How dare you!” Gwen screeched in indignation as she flounced over to the foot of the stairs that led up to Jack’s office. Unable to think of anything to say to counterattack Ianto’s cruel yet all true words on her own, she bellowed upstairs, “Are you going to stand there and let him talk to me like that?”

 

Ianto didn’t wait to see if Jack responded to Gwen’s demand for attention. “I had to beg and plead to get a job here and when I did, you all made it perfectly clear that I was nothing more than office support, the lowest of the low, not worth a single second of your precious time. Heaven forbid that you actually lower yourselves enough to thank me for all the work I do. But we all know that the mighty Torchwood team could never be so humbled. As far as you’re concerned, files and artefacts simply appear out of thin air when you need them, the mystical beverage faery brings you fresh coffee and biscuits and the SUV magically comes to life and restocks itself. And let’s not forget about the invisible elves that clean up every disgusting mess you make, Owen.”

 

”What can I say, Tea-Boy.” The medic merely shrugged. “I’m sure as hell not gonna thank you for doing the only thing you’re half-way good at.”

 

“And that’s another thing, thank you for bringing it up, Owen. At least I don’t go around putting people down, thinking I’m better than everybody because I work for Torchwood.”

 

“Don’t flatter yourself, Jones. I _am_ better than you – I went to school and became a doctor so I could save lives. You went to school and learned the bloody alphabet so you could file pieces of paper,” he snarked insolently.

 

Well aware of the fact that Owen was deliberately provoking him, Ianto pulled his temper back and continued. “I may have made myself invisible but you all allowed me to. Not one of you wanted to get to know the _Tea-Boy_ ; after all, he’s just the man who looks after you, who cleans up not only the Hub but all the crime scenes as well. He’s only the one who has to inform grief-stricken family members that a loved one won’t be coming home; he’s only the one who has to deal with securing Weevils, the one who has to fight off single-handedly the dangerous predators that are drawn to the blood and carnage you all leave behind because you’ve pranced off to the pub to congratulate yourselves on how brilliant you were.”

 

Up in his office, Jack listened to every word Ianto uttered and he felt every nuance of emotion behind those words. _‘What have we done?’_ he asked himself, although he knew full well what they’d done and more significantly, _not_ done.

 

“You like to look down your noses at anything to do with Torchwood One; you like to think that you’re better than they were when the truth is you didn’t know them. You know absolutely nothing about them so what gives you the right to judge them? The cold hard truth is that you are just like them except for one thing: they never tried to hide their arrogance. Tell me, did any of you even shed a single tear over the many lives lost that day or were you all too busy celebrating the destruction of what you considered an  
evil chapter of your little group?”

 

Ianto straighten his shirt as he looked coolly at each of them one by one before his gaze landed on Jack for the first time since he’d walked into the Hub. “I quit,” he said tersely. “Find another poor dumb soul to look after you. I’ve already worked for one group of heartless monsters whose arrogance and stupidity led to the loss of hundreds of innocent lives; I refuse to work for another one.”

 

That said, Ianto threw his letter onto the nearest desk then turned on his heel and stalked out of the Hub, his head held high. For the first time in months his heart felt lighter and the tight band that had been squeezing it for so long released. The next thing he noticed was that a massive weight had lifted from his shoulders, all from letting them know exactly how he felt.

 

Stunned into frozen silence, the team watched him go and a heavy weight settled in their hearts as guilt begun to eat away at them. They knew that their treatment of Ianto was wrong, they’d known it the whole time but it didn’t stop them from treating him like dirt. There was no denying that the young Welshman had betrayed them by hiding Lisa and yet not one of them could deny that they were just as guilty of betraying Ianto by not supporting him through his grief afterwards.

 

Unable to look at one another, they each retreated to their own workspace; Gwen slumped down in her seat and fiddled with the contents of her purse, studiously ignoring the stark white envelope lying on the corner of her desk. Tosh disappeared behind her monitors and tried to focus on refining her Rift prediction software, but she couldn’t see the lines of data through the tears in her eyes. Even Owen was subdued as he went down to his autopsy bay and began rearranging the contents of one of the cupboards.

 

Up in his office, Jack was devastated, wracked by guilt and oddly an inconsolable sense of loss. When the door alarms died out and the only trace of Ianto’s presence was the envelope lying on Gwen’s desk, Jack staggered over to the ratty couch in the corner and collapsed onto it. _‘What just happened?’_ He tried to process what he’d just seen and heard but his brain just wouldn’t – couldn’t – cooperate; he was frozen inside and out. _‘Every word Ianto spoke was true; the team did treat him like shit and I’m the worst of them all!’_ Jack searched his memories and his heart, trying to find some iota of innocence within himself, some indication that he had been kind to Ianto but there was none. _‘I’m the head of Torchwood Three; I should have set an example of forgiveness and understanding for the rest of the team, but all I did was play follow the leader behind Owen and Gwen!’_

 

_‘We did treat Ianto like he was beneath us, we never thanked him, not even once, for the many things he did around the Hub every single day, and we never took the time to realize that without the work he did around here we would fall apart.’_ The more Jack thought about the situation, the deeper his depression became as he admitted to himself that the worst part of all was the fact that they had treated Gwen like an old friend from day one, welcoming her into the fold, easily letting her fit in among them. It was something they never once tried to do with Ianto.

 

With a lump in his throat, Jack whispered to the empty room, “We treat Weevils better than we treated Ianto Jones!”

 

In truth letting him in was something they never wanted to do; Ianto brought the taint of Torchwood One with him and that simple fact made him the Torchwood Three’s enemy number one. Jack had never made it a secret that he hated Torchwood One and everything associated with Yvonne Hartman. Despite Rose Tyler’s unfortunate fate, he was beyond pleased to see their own greed drive them to destruction, feelings he passed on to Owen, Tosh and Suzie.

 

Downstairs, the full impact of Ianto’s actions was finally setting in and the atmosphere had become funereal. Gwen kept opening her mobile, intending to call Rhys, but she didn’t know what to say; she was too afraid she’d blurt out her role in Ianto’s decision to leave so she’d snap her phone shut again. Owen sat at his desk with is favourite war game open on his computer, but instead of racking up his score, he simply sat and stared at the screen. Even Myfanwy felt the loss of her favourite human; up in her aerie she was restless, chirping and squawking mournfully.

 

But it was Toshiko who was the most strongly affected by Ianto’s resignation. She’d given up trying to hide her grief and now tears rolled unchecked down her cheeks; on her main monitor she had the screen in quarters, each one showing a different clip of CCTV footage from the Hub, each one showing Ianto Jones in action. “Oh, Ianto, what have we done?” she whispered; reaching out she froze one view of Ianto when he was actually smiling, although at what she had no idea, and with one trembling finger she traced the side of his face. “I’m so sorry I let you down, my friend.”

 

Individually, each of the remaining members of Torchwood Three came to the same conclusion: they were solely responsible for the near destruction of Ianto Jones. Guilt surged through their hearts as they realized their hatred of Torchwood One had blinded them to the extent of Ianto’s loss and the fact that he was hurting and calling out to them for help.

 

In truth they had all forgotten that Ianto was just as human aw they are and therefore did not deserve to be treated like their servant. They’d all ignored the fact that even after the events involving Lisa, Ianto was still the most feeling and human of them all and their cruel treatment of him had slowly killed his spirit. 

 

“He’s really not coming back, is he?” Tosh asked in a choked-up voice as she fought and failed to hold back the tears that continue to fall.

 

“No, he’s not.”

 

“Oh, Jack!” Gwen gasped and jumped up from her seat as she realised that Jack had come out of his office.

 

Standing on the landing looking down on his fractured little kingdom, it killed Jack to utter those words but he knew that they had finally succeeded in doing what CanaryWharf and Lisa Hallett’s death couldn’t: they had broken Ianto Jones. Impotent rage, deep despair and hopeless realisation filled Jack’s soul; _‘I hope you know what a valuable asset you’re getting, Fury, because we sure as hell didn’t.’_

 

Tosh’s heartbroken sobs spurred Jack into action and as he bounded down the stairs, taking the steps three at a time, before crossing the floor and engulfing Tosh in his arms. He never noticed that Gwen had eagerly moved forward when she saw him coming towards her and Tosh’s desks, her arms outstretched, ready for Jack to sweep her up in a comforting hug. Instead, he went right on past her leaving her standing there with a foolish look on her face and anger in her eyes. Jack settled Toshiko’s head on his shoulder and held her trembling body tightly, trying to absorb some of her pain as she wept.

 

For several moments the only sounds in the Hub were Tosh’s sobs, which were slightly muffled by Jack’s shoulder, and Myfanwy’s screeches, which echoed loudly through the rafters.

 

*****

Pausing in the little office he’d created behind the counter of the Tourist Information Centre, Ianto collected a spare tie that had somehow found its way into a desk drawer, the paperback mystery he’d just started reading, and his favourite fountain pen, which was the last gift he’d ever received from his grandfather. Finally, he laid his keys, his ID badge, his work mobile and his stun gun in a straight line in the centre of the desk; he would never need any of them again. As he turned to leave something caught his eye and he looked back at his workspace. 

 

Tucked into a back corner sat two small framed photos. The first, in a frame made of driftwood collected from CardiffBay and designed by a local artisan, was of him and Lisa sitting poolside at a small bed and breakfast in Spain. It had been taken on the only holiday they’d ever spent together. The second, in a simple silver frame, was of the team. Tosh had managed to find a rare moment when all five of them were together and laughing over a joke; even Ianto had a quiet smile on his face. She’d given the framed pictures out as gifts shortly after Gwen’s arrival.

 

Picking up both items, Ianto started for the door but then he paused and looked at the pictures again, indecision written all over his face. _‘Do I really want these mementos or are my memories enough?’ he asked himself._ The answer came instantly. _‘No, I don’t,’_ and he firmly set them on the counter.

 

As his hand closed on the doorknob, Ianto turned back, looked at the pictures one last time and then darted forward and snatched one of them up. Tucking it into his pocket before he changed his mind again, he slipped through the door of the Tourist Information Centre and closed it quietly behind him. The snick of the lock as it clicked into place was absolutely liberating.

 

Behind him and in plain sight, a simple silver frame toppled over and lay waiting for the first person to come through the Hub’s hidden door to prop it up again.

 

As Ianto strolled along the boardwalk, there was a spring in his step that was last seen in London and as the cool breeze filled his lungs and left the taste of sea water on his tongue, the enormity of what happened finally hit him. There were unshed tears in his eyes when he realized that he was free. FREE! He wanted to laugh and he wanted to cry; he wanted to run back and he wanted to dance away on the wind.

 

_‘Now I just need to figure out what to do with my life.’_ Ianto knew that he had enough money in the bank that he could go for several months before he _had_ to get a job, just as he knew that when the time came, MI5 or even UNIT would gladly snap him up. A brilliant smile lit up Ianto’s face, prompting an elderly couple strolling past him to smile in return, but Ianto didn’t really notice; he was too caught up in the knowledge that suddenly his whole life was ahead of him and he had no clue what to do with it.

 

A spur of the moment impulse led Ianto inside the only coffee shop whose brew he was willing to drink. He ordered a large black coffee, went back outside and settled down on a bench that offered him an unparalleled view of CardiffBay and across the water to the city beyond. As he sipped his drink, savouring its heat and its bitter flavour, Ianto let his eyes flutter shut with a deep sigh. He decided not to dwell on his future, what would be would be, as his grandtad had often said, but instead he simply focused on the cool rain that began hitting his face, first as a light sprinkle and then as big fat drops plopping loudly on his skin. Even though he was starting to get wet, he didn’t care; he honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d stood out in the rain, not to clean up a crime scene, not to confront a snarling Weevil, not to collect a Rift-delivered artefact, but just because he wanted to enjoy the feeling of the rain on his skin.

 

Ianto Jones’ grandtad didn’t raise a fool; Ianto knew this was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to start living again, something he hadn’t done since CanaryWharf. Since the day the Tower fell, he’d been nothing but a walking ghost, not living but merely existing. Before the cannibals of the Brecon Beacons, before he’d been forced to confront his own mortality while lying in a hospital bed, before he’d found the backbone to say “I’ve had enough!”, merely existing had been enough but not now, not anymore. Now it was time for Ianto Jones to start living for Ianto Jones. After everything he’d been through in the past few months, he more than deserved it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ianto sat on his bench for a while and watched the tide come in, the tour boats pick up and drop off passengers, and mothers passing by pushing baby strollers. Then he’d spent the rest of the day wandering around Cardiff stopping to rest every once in a while when his ribs started aching too badly and finally it was time to go home. Along the way, just like the rain and clouds, Ianto let his troubles drift away until his mind was clear and his soul was at peace. Dusk had set in by the time he returned to his car and then made his way back to his small flat.

 

In truth Ianto had wanted to stay as far away from his home as he could in case someone, most likely Tosh, came looking for him. He wasn’t ready to see or talk with anyone just yet; actually, other than Tosh, there wasn’t anyone from Torchwood that he did want to see. He needed time to finish processing recent events and sorting through the vast array of emotions he was currently feeling regarding his former colleagues. “Colleagues,” he snorted sarcastically. “Yeah, right!”

 

Balancing a medium Meat Lover’s pizza and a six-pack of beer in one hand, Ianto managed to key open his door without dropping anything. He was really looking forward to vegging out in front of the telly for a few hours, getting a nice buzz from his beer and just relaxing without the worry of a Rift alert or a Weevil call-out. As far as he was concerned, it sounded like absolute heaven and he couldn’t wait to get started. Of course his plans were all shot to hell the moment he opened his door and spotted the imposing man standing in his living room.

 

“Mister Jones, I’m Nick Fury with SHIELD and I would like to offer you a job as my personal assistant.” Fury wasted no time in revealing why he’d broken into Ianto’s flat to wait for him.

 

All plans forgotten, Ianto could only stare slack-jawed at the leader of SHIELD. “I’m sorry, sir, but I think I misheard you. You want me to work for you?” Ianto began to wonder if this was a dream he had fallen into or that maybe his concussion had been much worse than diagnosed and he was hallucinating.

 

“You heard me right, Mr Jones; I want you to come work for me.” Fury crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Ianto with his eyebrow raised. “Interested?”

 

Ianto continued to stare at Fury in shock as his pizza box tipped dangerously. “Me? In SHIELD? Are you sure that you have the right man?” Ianto couldn’t imagine what he could possibly offer to SHIELD’ which was regarded as a top of the line organisation.

 

The barest hint of a smile graced the corners of Fury’s lips. “Humility, I like that in an agent, Mr Jones. I’ve been keeping my eye on you for some time. The loyalty you’ve given to Torchwood One and Three is something very rare. You were being wasted…”

 

Even in his state of quiet shock, Ianto didn’t miss Fury’s use of the past tense. _‘It’s only been eight hours and he already knows. Interesting._

 

“…at Torchwood Three; I bet they don’t even know that you were a former field agent at One?” Fury knew he had made his point when Ianto remained silent.

 

“I need someone like you, with your attention to detail, your ability to organise and especially your talent for controlling things – and people – from behind the scenes, to keep two of my best field agents in line. They have a habit of… shall we say… doing things on their own and in their own way. I want you as my personal assistant and Tony Stark’s handler.” Having heard his operative’s reports on the young Welshman, Nick Fury was quite sure that Ianto could keep Iron Man under proper control. In fact, from what he'd already seen of Ianto, Fury was reminded quite a lot of Pepper Potts and she'd done a great job in keeping the headstrong agent in line.

 

Fury wasn’t saying It wasn’t that Agent Phil Coulson hadn’t been doing a good job in handling Tony because he had. But Coulson was a field agent, first and foremost, with a gift for spotting talented individuals who showed great potential. Fury needed him on the front line searching for those who would fit in with the Avengers’ Initiative and all of Phil’s time after that was devoted to keeping his right eye on Agents Barton and Romanov. Suffice it to say that watching over those two meant he had his hands full to the brim right now.

 

At first Fury had considered assigning Ianto as Clint and Natasha's handler, which would allow Coulson to continue handling Stark but that idea dead a quick and fiery death when reality set in. There was only a handful of people Barton and Romanov trusted and in place of honour at the top of that list is sat SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson. Plus, everyone with half a brain on their head knew that Phil and Clint had a thing going on – a very passionate thing, if rumours were to be believed. Fury shook his head with exasperated amusement; _‘just who do those two think they’re fooling_ _anyway?’_ Fury tried to keep out of his agents’ love lives, but even _he_ knew about them, the signs were so very obvious.

 

Suddenly mindful that he was standing there in front of Director Nick Fury holding pizza and beer, Ianto quickly ducked into the kitchen and set both items down on the counter before returning to the living room. His mind was roiling about in his head like an excited pinball; he had questions, answers, more questions, and surrounding it all was a growing sense of wonder and excitement. Never in his life did Ianto think that SHIELD would want him, and then a sobering thought struck: maybe they didn’t realise that he’d so damaged – both mentally and now physically – from his time with Torchwood. He didn’t want to bring it up but he had to know.

 

“Are you sure, sir? I am damaged goods, after all,” Ianto reminded Fury softly, and he found that he couldn’t meet the man’s eyes so he focused on an invisible piece of lint on his sleeve.

 

Fury felt a rising sense of rage building inside him as he looked at Ianto Jones; the young Welshman wasn’t cowed so much as he was ashamed. _‘I cannot_ _believe_ _that Torchwood Three has_ _reduced this once great man to nothing but a shell_ _of his former self!’_  When Fury spoke next it was with impassioned conviction. “Mr Jones, you are _not_ damaged. You may be a little dented…”

 

Ianto gave a wincing grin at Fury’s terminology and his hand went unconsciously to hold his ribcage.

 

“…at the moment,” and Fury indicated the bandage on Ianto’s head and then waved his hand at Ianto’s torso, “but it’s nothing that won’t heal with time. And you are far more human than some of your former teammates. SHIELD needs someone like you to remind us what we are fighting for. So, will you come work for me?” Fury stared at Ianto; he could the emotions battling behind Ianto’s eyes and he had a feeling he knew what Ianto’s answer was going to be.

 

_‘A new start! This is just what I need.’_ Unbidden, Ianto heard his grand-tad’s voice; “You make your own lot in life, bachgen bach, and this is a golden opportunity.” Ianto smiled involuntarily; his grand-tad had called him ‘little boy’ long after he was past puberty and stood a foot taller than the older man. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve being offered such a wonderful gift but he wasn’t foolish enough to let it slip through his fingers. If he did, he knew that his grand-tad would find a way to come back and royally kick his arse.

 

“I accept.”

 

The tiniest hint of a smile graced Fury’s face. “I had a feeling you we’re going to stay that, Mr Jones. Welcome to SHIELD.” He held out his hand and Ianto met it with a firm shake. “I’ll expect you at work first thing Monday morning.”

 

With his heart beating wildly in his chest Ianto watched as Fury quickly and quietly exited his flat and then he landed on his couch with a plop. His growing sense of wonder and elation were tinged with a degree of nerves. _‘This is really happening!’_ He had a new life waiting him, a fresh start that would enable him to build new memories. He could leave behind him the ghosts of Lisa, Annie and so many others he’d been unable to save. _‘This time_ _I am not going to let it slip through_ _my fingers.’_   

His mind began racing through the myriad possibilities ahead of him, New York City had hundreds of top-notch restaurants; Broadway and non-stop musical theatre; Ellis Island – Ianto was really looking forward to visiting the place where his great Uncle Geraint first stepped foot in America. He was just starting to decide which museum he’d visit first when one single word completely derailed his train of thought: Monday.

 

_'Monday?'_ Ianto's eyes widened in alarm; _'I need to get packing!’_ Jumping to his feet, he rushed into the kitchen and pulled a pen and a pad of paper from a drawer. “Lists! I need to make a list!” Grabbing the beer and the pizza box, he returned to the living room and set himself up on the coffee table. “Okay, number one _,_ I havetomakearrangementsto shipthe things I wantto take with me.Then, I need to contact an estate agent and put my flat up and then… oh crap…!” Ianto gulped down half his beer in one go. “And then I have to inform my sister.”

 

With eyes the size of saucers, he let his gaze flicker nervously to his phone; he wasn't sure just how Rhiannon was going to handle him leaving and moving so far away. He didn’t know how he’d break the news that he was joining SHIELD of all places. Picking up his mobile, he started dialling and then stopped, shut the phone and put it back down. Picking up a slice of now-cold pizza he nibbled nervously on the point for a moment, and then he put that back down too. “Hello, Rhiannon, it’s your brother, Ianto,” he practiced. “No, that sounds stupid, she knows who I am.” 

 

Snatching up his beer, Ianto began pacing the floor. “Hello, Rhiannon, this is Ianto; how is your family doing?” He took a swig of beer. “No, that’s too formal.” Realising his drink was gone he put the empty in the bin and took another bottle. “Hey, Sis!  How’s things?” He grimaced and traded in his untouched beer for pizza. Polishing off the slice, he sighed deeply and picked up the mobile again. No matter what he said to her, it was going to be difficult for her to hear and it was something he couldn't put off forever.

 

“Hi, Rhi, it’s me; I’ve got some news…”

 

******

Ianto had stormed out hours ago and yet heavy tension hung over the Hub like a thick fog. Tosh had barricaded herself at her desk, refusing to speak to or even look at Gwen or Owen. Icy disdain poured off of her in waves and it filled the Hub with a distinct chill, and Jack was very, very thankful that her rage wasn’t directed at him.

 

Tosh wanted to be mad at Jack, she really did, but she just couldn’t find it within her. No matter what he did, he was still her hero, the man who’d saved her from a fate worse than death; he’d given her a new start and fulfilled her every dream about what the future might bring. From the guilty and forlorn looks that Jack kept casting at the coffee maker and then up at Myfanwy he was missing Ianto just as much or probably even more than she was and her heart went out to him. But no matter how much she missed him, at the same time Tosh couldn’t be more proud of Ianto for standing up for himself the way he did. She could still see the fire in his eyes and the passion in his voice as he told them all exactly what he thought of them and the way they’d taken him for granted.

 

Tosh had accepted that Ianto’s angry truth had included her; she too had pushed him away. None of them could be bothered getting to know him and now it was too late; they had shunned him when he need them the most instead of reaching out to him and now he was gone forever. _‘I really am sorry, Ianto. We have no one to blame but ourselves; I hope with all my heart that you find some happiness. No one deserves it more.’_

Sadly it became clear that not everyone felt the same way she did; with a scowl on her face Gwen suddenly shot to her feet and stomped over to the foot of the staircase. “Someone needs to talk to Jack; he’s been sulking in his office all day. He has to realise that it wasn’t his or our fault, Ianto had no right to speak to me…” Gwen realised she’d made a telling mistake and quickly corrected herself, _“…us_ like that, not after what he’s done.”

 

Her previous determination not to speak to Gwen flew out the window as Tosh found herself pushed beyond the limits of tolerance. “Oh, will you please get off your high horse! Ianto has the blood of three people on his hands; tell me, Gwen, just how many people did you let die during the sex alien debacle? How many people’s blood is now on your hands because you were screwing around out in the field? There’s the man in the club, Carys’ old boyfriend, and how many little piles of dust did we find at the fertility clinic? Two, three, five; I seem to recall a dozen.”

 

“Carys killed all those men!” Gwen protested weakly. “You can’t blame me for that!”

 

“Really?” Tosh cocked an eyebrow and looked at Gwen in silence until she flushed an ugly red and dropped her head. “And I seem to remember – quite clearly, in fact – that we were all quite solicitous of your feelings, including Ianto. Didn’t he make you a cup of his special hot cocoa just to make you feel better?  We could have treated you the way we treated Ianto but we didn’t, even though you both caused the deaths of innocent people. So tell me how what he did is worse than your crime?” Tosh demanded. She was so tired of Gwen’s holier-than-thou attitude towards Ianto.

 

Tapping her foot impatiently, Tosh waited for an answer and when none was forthcoming, she continued. “Where was your punishment, Gwen? At least Ianto has learned from his mistake; and he’s tried his best to make amends. Did you know that he asked if he could go and inform the families of your victims? And do you know _why_ he did that? Because you, the precious heart of Torchwood, obviously weren’t going to.” 

 

Gwen backed up like she’d been physically slapped and Owen, who’d come up from autopsy when Tosh had started talking, looked at tech genius with something close to awe shining in his eyes. Choosing to ignore the fact that it had never occurred to her to take on the death notification duties, Gwen fell back on her previous defence, weak though it was. “None of that my fault, Tosh! Tell her, Owen; tell her it was just an honest mistake! Tell her she’s not being fair!” Gwen couldn’t believe that Tosh was placing all the blame onto her!

 

Much to Gwen’s chagrin and annoyance, Owen just shrugged his shoulders at her. “Only an idiot throws tools at people, Cooper; that was a really stupid move. If you hadn’t been trying to show off for Jack you wouldn’t have released the alien and all those men would still be alive today.” That said, he turned his back to her and focused solely on Toshiko.

 

Gwen glowered at Owen’s back through narrowed eyes. _‘Watch it, Owen, I know like getting even, you know.’_  Returning her attention to the matter at hand she suddenly came with the perfect retort. “Besides, they are two completely different things,” she informed Tosh in a condescending albeit huffy tone, confident that she had the winning argument.

 

Tosh nodded her head regally and acknowledged, “You’re right, they _are_ two completely different things.” Gwen smiled rather smugly ready to enjoy her victory, but it the look was wiped right off her face as Tosh continued to speak. “Ianto did what he did out of love which is something you talk about ad nauseum and which you constantly flaunt in our faces. However, I wonder if you really know what it’s like to _be_ in love.”

 

“How dare you!” Gwen’s face flushed and she stepped forward belligerently. “I know plenty about being in love, I mean _really_ in love! It’s not my fault you cling to your pathetic feelings for Owen. Face it, sweetheart, he’s never going to be interested in you.” Gwen snapped back. “Cold fish like you just aren’t his type!”

 

Tosh flushed darkly and at her sides, her hands clenched into fists. She knew full well that Owen would never see her as anything but a work college and maybe one day a friend; _‘I_ _don’t need Gwen Cooper to point that out to_ _me,_ _thank you very much!’_ Tosh tried to find the courage to glance at Owen but found she didn’t want to see the look of pity in his eyes. Instead, she fought back; "I would rather be a pathetic romantic than a lying cheater like you. Tell me, Miss I’m-so-devoted-to-my-boyfriend Cooper, how can you be so in love with Rhys when you're always trying to seduce Jack with your ridiculous cow eyes and overly tight clothes one minute and then the next you’re lying to Rhys about working late so you can sleep with Owen? Did you by chance tell him about the way you slept your way through half the Constable’s Department?"

 

Owen blinked; he wasn’t use to Tosh being so fierce and he found himself wondering for the first time how he’d never noticed this side of her before. He was honestly surprised to find that it was actually a bit of a turn on.

 

_‘How the hell does she know about that?!’_ Gwen stepped closer to Tosh with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Are you calling me a whore?" she demanded.

 

If Tosh noticed that she was really getting to Gwen, she didn’t show it but instead she raised lifted her chin defiantly and looked Gwen straight in the eye. "No, I'm calling you an unfaithful witch who happily flaunts her relationship when she wants to rub our noses in the fact that she has something that we don't, which is someone on the outside. You’re a conniving cow who has no compunction about using Rhys to make whoever you want to sleep with next jealous. Finally, you're a cheating liar who conveniently forgets about the man who actually loves her whenever the opportunity to sleep with someone else comes along.” 

 

Neither Tosh nor Owen were prepared for what Gwen did next: with an enraged scream the former PC launched herself at Tosh. Despite the surprise attack on the seasoned Torchwood veteran, Gwen's still healing gunshot wound hindered her movements. Tosh easily got the upper hand and she managed to land a swift punch on Gwen’s chin.

 

"As much as I enjoy a good catfight this is not the time for it! Harkness, get your pathetic ass down here!" Owen shouted up to Jack's office as he tried to separate the two warring females.

 

Once Toshiko had calmed down, Jack wanted her to go home, but she’d refused, saying that she was fine and needed to work. Completely ignoring Gwen’s overly-dramatic and clingy attempts to have him comfort her, he’d stalked back upstairs and locked himself in his office. He’d taken the bottle of Scotch that Ianto had given him for Christmas from his desk drawer, poured a full glass and then he’d called up the cameras he had installed in Ianto’s flat when he went on suspension.

 

Initially they had been his way of keeping an eye on the Welshman during those thirty days; Ianto had been so lost in his grief that Jack had truly feared he might do something as foolish as take his own life. He sat at his desk for hours, sipping his whisky and remembering Ianto Jones. Roughly an hour before his former archivist came home, he wasn’t at all surprised to see a dignified man – Jack recognised him immediately – let himself into Ianto’s flat and take a seat to wait patiently for him. When Ianto arrived, Jack sat forward in his seat, anxious to see what would happen, praying that Ianto would come to his senses although in the back of his mind he already knew.

 

Even without the sound it easy for Jack to read their lips and he knew that Fury had offered Ianto a job and his… no, not his… _‘could have been_ _mine_ _if things had been different,_ _if_ _I had been better at saying_ …’ Jack shook his head; it was too late for the ‘what-if’s’ and the ‘might-have-been’s’; the young Welshman had accepted and they were shaking hands. _'I've lost him.’_ Jack’s heart sank. _‘You better take care of him, Fury,'_ Jack raised his glass in salute and drained its contents in a single draught.

 

He spent the next half-hour watching Ianto pace around his flat and talk to himself when he was broken out of his thoughts of what could have been by Gwen's enraged scream and Owen's shouts for help. Slamming his glass down on his desk, Jack stalked across his office, unlocked the door and yanked it open so hard that it bounced on the wall and closed behind him as he stepped out onto the landing. “What the hell is going on out here?” he roared as he looked down to see Tosh and Gwen engaged in a cat fight in the middle of the Hub’s floor while Owen tried desperately to separate them.

 

"A difference of opinions has gotten a little out of hand… Hey!” Owen ducked a flying fist. ‘Now would you bloody well get down here and grab Tosh before Gwen ends up ripping open her wound!" Owen demanded breathlessly; he had his hands full trying to restrain Gwen which wasn't easy when the Welshwoman was fired up and wanted nothing more than a piece of her teammate.

 

Descending the stairs quickly Jack wrapped his arms around Tosh’s waist and easily carried the struggling female over to the sofa. He winced in pain as Tosh nailed him in the thigh with her heeled boots and then grabbed hold of her ankle as she unwittingly aimed a kick at his groin. When Tosh surged back up, still fueled by anger, he pushed her back down and said sternly, “Hey, Tosh, it’s me! Give it a rest, okay!” 

 

Her chest heaving as she caught her breath, Tosh looked up at Jack with clear surprise; she hadn’t noticed him at all until that moment. Seeing his look of obvious disapproval, she felt herself begin to colour with a guilty flush.

 

Convinced that Tosh wasn’t going anywhere, Jack turned back to look at Gwen and Owen; she was still on the floor while Owen was kneeling beside her examining her bandages. He wasn’t at all surprised that Gwen and Tosh had actually come to blows; despite Tosh’s sweet nature she was ferociously protective over those she considered family and it was clear that Ianto fell into that category. Jack shook his head sadly; his hand-selected team was falling apart. It was a shame that it took Ianto’s quitting for them to realise just what a calming and soothing presence Ianto had been on them.

 

With a heavy heart, Jack knew that while he couldn’t do anything about Ianto leaving him, it was better that Ianto go now before they slowly killed him with their callous treatment. Jack did not want to see such another bright star be snuffed out because of Torchwood; Rose was enough. No, it was better that he lose Ianto now before the young man could dig himself deeper into his heart rather than lose him later when the pain would be so much greater.

 

It was too late now to make Ianto a part of the team, something he should have done from the beginning and Jack knew he’d have to live with guilt of that for a long time to come, but it was time for Jack to help those he still had before they fractured completely.

 

He waited for Owen to give him the all-clear on Gwen before he acknowledged the fact that, “I know you’re hurting about Ianto leaving us but we can’t go around fighting with one another! This kind of animosity will cause discord in the field and that’s the one place where we all have to be united or chances are you’ll be leaving in body bags.” _‘Please listen to me!’_ Jack pleaded silently;he wasn’t ready to bury another team.

 

Gwen glared over at Tosh from her spot in Owen’s arms; the fight may have gone out of her due mainly to her aching ribs but her anger remained unabated. “She started it, Jack! It’s not my fault that she can’t handle the truth.”

 

Behind Gwen Owen rolled his eyes with utter exasperation; _‘I should have noticed earlier how good Gwen is at twisting the truth to suit her own needs.’_ When Jack’s questioning eyes landed on him Owen shook his head and nodded at Gwen, thereby confirming their leader’s suspicions that Gwen wasn’t telling the whole truth. _‘If anyone can’t handle the truth it’s Gwen.’_

 

A sudden sob from Tosh had Jack whirling around, panicking that Tosh been had hurt in some way. “Tosh, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Jack asked scooping Tosh up in his arms as if she were a mere child so he could look her over.

 

The anguish in Tosh’s grief-stricken brown eyes brought a lump to Jack’s throat. “We’re all at fault, Jack, don’t you see? Not one of us made the effort to offer any type of friendship to Ianto. We all failed him; while Gwen may have the nerve to act all high and mighty saying that he deserved our treatment of him the truth is that we’re just as guilty as she is. If we’d made the effort to reach out to him then maybe he might have trusted us enough to tell us about Lisa,” Tosh sobbed out clinging to Jack. It was clear that her sense of guilt was crushing her soul.

 

Sinking down on to the sofa, Jack tightened his grip on Tosh and pressed a kiss into her hair. “I know, sweetheart, and that’s why it’s better for us to let Ianto go now so he has a chance at finding a place where he truly belongs and where he can find a piece of the happiness that we denied him.” It pained Jack to say these words but Ianto more than earned the right to a clean break from Torchwood. He decided right then and there that he wasn’t going to tell any of them where Ianto had gone; he knew that Tosh would eventually break down and contact him and as far as Gwen and Owen were concerned, Jack selfishly didn’t want them to know.

 

For the second time that day, the only sounds to be heard were Tosh's heart-wrenching sobs echoing around the silent Hub.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

“So you’re leaving?” Rhiannon asked with icy disbelief. Her jaw was tight and her eyes angry as she stared across the coffee table at her brother. When he’d called her the night before and told her that he had news and needed to talk to her about it, this was the last thing she had expected.

 

Slowly Ianto nodded his head afraid of what her reaction would be. "I think it's time that I had a new start, Rhi,” he told her earnestly. “Torchwood One damned my soul while Torchwood Three was killing what remained of my spirit. I just need to start over someplace where I have no memories, where I can move on from the pain and guilt that has haunted me ever since Torchwood One fell."

 

Rhiannon's heart broke at the pain she could hear in her baby brother's voice; she knew he was living with survivors’ guilt for living when everyone else he’d known didn't. "I understand, Ianto, really I do, and while I'm not _happy_ about you leaving I won't stop you. Grandma Peggy would be so proud of you just as I am." Since he was a child Ianto had been enchanted by their Grandma Peggy's stories of her adventures in the Second World War and her brief romance with the legendary Steve Rogers. Even though she’d later married Ianto’s advice-giving grand-tad, Peggy had loved Steve until her dying day. From an early age Ianto had vowed he would one day work with SHIELD simply because of Peggy’s stories.

 

Caught completely unaware by Rhiannon’s admission, Ianto released a shuddering breath and tears sprang to his eyes. It had been such a long time since anyone had said they were proud of him; _‘in fact,’_ he thought back, _‘Grand-tad was the last person, just before he died.’_

 

"Oh Ianto," Rhiannon murmured as she launched herself out of her chair and onto the sofa, where she drew Ianto into a tight hug. That simple act of kindness was all it took for the dam to break and the tears Ianto had fought back for so long came rushing forth in great, gulping sobs.

 

At that moment, as she felt her brother trembling and crying in her embrace, Rhiannon found that she truly hated Torchwood and what they had done to Ianto. _'As far as I’m concerned, Ianto can't get away from them fast enough!'_ Rhiannon knew that come hell or high water, there was no way she would ever allow Ianto to return to that dreadful place.

 

*****  
Before he knew it the week was over, the weekend had come and gone and it was Monday morning. As he opened the door to his flat for the very last time and came face-to-face with a good-looking albeit severe man dressed in a rather impressive suit, Ianto Jones knew that his life in Cardiff was behind him. Between the fact that the man did not smile and his obvious air of quiet authority, Ianto knew that this man was not someone to be messed with.

 

“Ianto Jones?” the man waited until the younger man nodded before continuing, “I’m Agent Phil Coulson. I’ve been assigned to escort you to the airfield where our plane is waiting to transport us to the SHIELD Heli-carrier in New York.” He turned to go, assuming that Ianto would automatically follow him and then he looked back. “Do not worry about your belongings; they will be handled,” Coulson reassured him.

 

Ianto nodded his head; he had already said his good-byes to his sister, niece and nephew but there was still one set of good-byes left. He’d been fretting about the idea all week, turning the decision over and over in his mind, listing the pros and cons until he was dizzy. He’d finally decided that he couldn’t face himself if he left Cardiff without at least making the effort. In his heart he knew that they just may be the hardest farewells in his young life. “Is it possible that we can make one stop before we leave?”

 

Well aware of Ianto’s situation – after all, he’d been an eye witness to Ianto’s condition at St David’s A&E – Coulson had a pretty good idea of where they would be stopping. “We can do that, if it’s what you really want. We still have plenty of time.”

 

*****

Lying on the floor beneath her desk, Toshiko Sato was plugging the last set of wires into the new computer she was hooking up when the Hub alarms sounded and the cog door rolled back. Looking up surprise graced her face as she saw who was entering. “Ianto!” she squealed with delight and jumped to her feet, scattering tools in her haste.

 

Ianto had honestly been surprised when he discovered that his pass codes still worked and he took a steadying breath as he entered the Hub one last time. Two steps inside he found himself stumbling back as Tosh launched herself at him, threw her arms around his neck and began crying happily into his shirt. Helpless and at a loss of what to do, Ianto wrapped his arms around Tosh’s shaking form and whispered into her ear, “There, there, Tosh; please don’t cry. I hate seeing a pretty girl crying.”

 

Tosh clung to Ianto hating herself for breaking down; she hadn’t wanted to but she just couldn’t stop herself. She had been so sure she’d never see her friend again. “I’m so glad you came by! I would have been very upset if you left and didn’t say good-bye,” she admitted in a soft voice.

 

Ianto raised an eyebrow wondering just how Tosh knew he was leaving.

 

A sheepish look appeared on Tosh’s face as she saw the look of curiosity on Ianto’s face. “I um… kinda hacked UNIT, MI5 and SHIELD looking to see which one of them snapped you up.”

 

“How did you know they would?” Ianto asked. “How did you know I would just open a coffee shop and live a quiet life somewhere?”

 

“Like it or not, this life is in your blood, my friend.” Tosh grinned cheekily. “Besides, I’d have been keeping an eye on you no matter where you went!”

 

Ianto smiled; he felt strangely touched that Tosh was concerned enough to check up on him. “Thank you for caring so much about me, Tosh, especially after all the things I said the last time I was here. I promise to keep touch with you,” Ianto vowed; he didn’t want to lose his tentative friendship he had with Tosh. “In fact, maybe when I get settled you’ll come and visit me.

 

“You better.” Tosh glared at Ianto with a playful hint in her eyes. “And yes, I’d love to come to New   York; you can take me out to dinner.”

 

“I will. Thank you for being a good friend,” Ianto whispered into Tosh’s hair.

 

The other three members of Torchwood, drawn by Tosh’s joyous cry, shifted a little awkwardly as they watched the tender farewell between the two friends. Gwen and Owen were both unsure if they should approach Ianto, after all, Owen and Ianto didn’t have the nicest of friendships and Gwen hadn’t bothered to get to know Ianto at all. Truth be told, they wouldn’t miss him at all, and certainly not like Tosh and more than likely Jack would.

 

Reluctantly, Tosh pulled away from Ianto to allow Jack a chance to say his goodbye to Ianto. As Jack approached hesitantly Ianto took a moment to admire Jack, something he’d never done openly before, and he knew that no matter what had happened between them he would feel something special for Jack. _‘Maybe if things had been different we could have been more.’_ In his heart, Ianto would always have this what-if about Jack but he couldn’t dwell on what could have been. It was just too late for that.

 

Jack Harkness was known for taking what he wanted when he wanted it and there was only one thing in the world he wanted right now and that was to feel Ianto in his arms at least one time. “Take care of yourself, Jones, Ianto Jones,” Jack whispered into Ianto’s ear as he held the Welshman for the first and last time. He knew that if his and Ianto’s paths ever crossed again they would be colleagues and maybe friends… if he was lucky.

 

“I will and you need to know that you’re not to blame for me leaving, Jack. I have to save what’s left of my soul,” Ianto whispered back just as softly. “Have a good life, Captain Jack Harkness.”

 

Jack knew that Ianto spoke the truth; he really did need to leave in order to stop Torchwood from killing his soul. He didn’t think it would be this hard to let Ianto go but somehow Jack found the strength to drop his arms and step away from Ianto. “I’d better get going; my ride is waiting for me.” Ianto took a step toward the door and then looked back at Jack one last time. “I doubt I’ll be back any time soon but remember, Jack, Toshiko, if you ever need help you have a friend at SHIELD.”

 

As a final gesture, Ianto gave Owen and Gwen a brief nod; “I hope there are no hard feelings.” Ianto felt it couldn’t hurt to make peace with the last two members of his former team.

 

Gwen gave a curt nod but said nothing before turning away to study the far wall. On the other hand Owen gave Ianto a faint smile; “Take care of yourself, Tea-Boy,” and for the first time there was no malice in the use of the dreaded nickname.

 

Jack moved to wrap an arm around Toshiko’s shaking shoulders, holding her close to his body as the two of them watched Ianto take his final leave of Torchwood Three. One thought was at the forefront of Jack’s mind, _‘I need to open the channels to better relations with SHIELD immediately.’_ It wasn’t much but it would be a way to still have a piece of Ianto to cling to. For now, it would have to be enough.

 

******  
  
Phil Coulson said nothing as Ianto slid back into the car. It was obvious that his farewells had been a lot harder than expected; his eyes a little red and his lips were a thin slash across his face. Despite all the problems it would seem that Ianto truly cared about his Torchwood colleagues, even if his place wasn’t among them any longer. Coulson had to admire Ianto’s strength; he knew that he could never walk away from SHIELD, Natasha or Clint.

 

Especially Clint.

 

_‘I wonder how the Director is handling the briefing? Clint and Stark in the same room together is just asking for trouble.’_ In some ways Coulson was very glad he was still in Cardiff having a chance to avoid that meeting, but at the same time to his deep regret, his bed had never felt lonelier. Without his partner lying next to him the nights stretched on forever and he never actually fell asleep, the best he could do was to doze lightly and dream about being back in his lover’s arms. A thought struck Phil and he almost groaned out load; _‘Please,’ he prayed, ‘don’t let_ _Clint do_ _anything that will require_ _me doing_ _a lot_ _of paperwork when_ _I get back.’_  An unexpected grin flashed across his face. _‘Who am I kidding; I’ll have stacks when I get back!’_

*****

 

Clint Barton was bored, pissed off and horny and there was only one reason why: his lover was off on assignment recruiting a new handler, leaving him stuck here on his own. _‘It’s just not fair!’_ Clint slouched in his chair sulking and wondering why he was sitting there and not out tracking down his lover.

 

The doors slid open and in strolled the impressive figure of Tony Stark looking like he owned the place which, given how much money he had and how many pieces of technology were actually Stark’s design, he probably did.

 

“So what’s this big meeting about?” Tony asked as he removed his shades and took a look around the room mentally taking roll call. “Hey, where’s Super Agent?”

 

“Agent _Coulson…”_ and the emphasis on Phil’s name was unmistakable, “…is on assignment collecting your new handler, Stark.” A new voice spoke up from behind Tony. All three agents turned to see Nick Fury, Maria Hill and acting baby-sitter to Clint, and Natasha Jasper Sitwell in the doorway.

 

Arms crossed belligerently over his chest Tony glared at the man standing before him, not caring that he was the spy of all spies. No one gave him orders. “Why am I stuck with the newbie?” he demanded in a whiny voice while the look on his face would only be described as pouting. The other agents were surprised when he didn’t actually stamp his foot in childish protest.

 

Unamused, Fury merely raised an eyebrow and stared down Tony. “That _newbie,_ as you put it, survived the fall of Torchwood One. He also put his own life on the line so one of his Torchwood Three co-workers could get away from a clan of cannibals who planned on eating them as part of a sick village tradition.”

 

Both Natasha and Clint sat up a little straighter in their chairs; they had seen the row upon row of caskets containing the Tower’s dead as well as the cataclysmic destruction that had been the aftermath of CanaryWharf. For this man to still be alive, functioning and sane after surviving something so horrific was pretty damn impressive.

 

Natasha shot Tony a look. "You _have_ heard of CanaryWharf, right?" she inquired ever-so-sweetly.

 

For a change, Stark refused to rise to the bait; even he was moved by the story of the new man. "Everyone on planet Earth has heard about the CanaryWharf terrorist attack that left only twenty-seven survivors. You know, something always felt off about their reports especially after those weird ghost shifts started happening.” Tony himself had been mildly put out, and that was putting it lightly, when the ghost of his father suddenly began haunting him.

 

After his father’s first visit, Tony had taken it upon himself to look into the behind-the-scenes goings-on of Torchwood One and the pure ease he’d experienced in penetrating their systems had left him quite unimpressed. For a top secret agency that was tasked with keeping the world safe from alien threats, their computer security was ridiculously easy to hack.

 

Plopping down into the nearest chair Tony hiked an eyebrow. “So do you plan on actually telling me about this super-agent-in-training or will I have to have JARVIS hack your systems again?”

 

It was Maria who stepped forward and pulled up the info on SHIELD’s newest handler, displaying it on the wide-screen monitor for all to see. “Ladies and gentlemen, meet Ianto Jones.”

 

Tony could not stop the soft whistle that escaped his lips as he laid eyes on the young man’s photo. _‘Maybe this won’t be so bad after all!’_ Tony felt a spike of not desire shoot through his body as he sat up a little straighter and studied Ianto’s face. Not since he and Pepper had ended before they’d truly begun had Tony felt such a powerful pull. It wasn’t that he and Pepper hadn’t loved each other because they had, but it just hadn’t been strong enough to build a relationship on.

 

Besides, one would have to be deaf, dumb and blind in order to miss the passionate sparks flying back and forth between Pepper and Natasha. If they weren’t already a couple, Tony grinned knowingly to himself, they would soon be.

 

Natasha, who was doing a bit more than just studying Ianto’s face, felt her eyes widen in amazement as she listened to the Director of SHIELD. If what Nick Fury said was true then it was no wonder he wanted Jones as a member of SHIELD.

 

One of the reasons Tony was so very interested in this Ianto Jones character was that he knew that his father had always cared deeply for Peggy Carter. Howard Stark said it took a special kind of lady to win the heart of Steve Rogers which she had done with such ease that it made Tony wonder what her grandson would be like. _‘How soon_ _do I_ _get to find out for myself?’_ Oh yes, suddenly having a new handler didn’t seem all that bad after all; in fact, it had a certain handsome, blue-eyed appeal.

 

*****

 

Ianto Jones was more than a little awed as the SHIELD Heli-carrier came into view and his breath caught in his throat. It really was everything his grandmother had said it was when she’d described it to him so many years before. _‘And now, Granma Peggy, my childhood dreams have come true. This is my new home and my fresh start, one that I promise I will not waste.’_

 

Steeling himself Ianto turned away from the amazing view to face Coulson. “Will I be meeting with Director Fury right away?”

 

Coulson nodded his head. “Yes and you’ll also be meeting our top agents as well as the man you’ll be assigned to as his handler.”

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, who _will_ I be assigned to?” Ianto was curious as to who about the man SHIELD had hired him to keep an eye on; he didn’t even have a name to go on yet.

 

“Tony Stark,” Coulson informed Ianto, “aka IronMan.” He studied Ianto with open curiosity, waiting to see what the young man’s reaction would be and he was relieved to find that Ianto didn’t appear fazed at all by the news. Phis was thrilled to no longer be the one tasked with keeping an eye on Iron Man; Tony was just too much to hand when he had his hands full to overflowing with Clint and Natasha.

 

Although he kept his reaction to the shocking news hidden, Ianto’s mouth went dry. Tony Stark was an absolute genius, even smarter than Toshiko Sato, he sadly admitted, as well as being the first superhero to ‘arrive’ on Earth since Captain America. _‘He is_ _my_ _first assignment for SHIELD?_ _Oh, Lord, I hope I can handle this!’_

 

Hiding a smile, Coulson reassured him. “Don’t worry, Ianto,” he said kindly, “you’ll do just fine. You survived working for Jack Harkness, Stark won’t be any different.” While he hadn’t yet had the dubious pleasure of meeting Captain Jack Harkness he had heard the stories and he hadn’t missed the glaringly obvious similarities between Tony Stark and Jack Harkness. Given how well Ianto had handled Jack, Tony shouldn’t be too hard for the young man to handle; at least Coulson hoped that would be the case.

 

“You’ll do fine as long as you don’t let Stark get to you.” Coulson offered the best piece of advice he could think of as he stepped into the room confident that Ianto would be following him.

 

*****

Standing at the front of the conference room Ianto took a deep breath as he steeled himself to meet with not only Tony Stark but also the formidable head of SHIELD and their two top agents.

 

Pulling down the corner of his aviator’s shades Tony let his eyes rake over every inch of the man who’d come in behind Coulson. One eyebrow rose as he licked his lips with hungry anticipation. _'Oh yeah, baby! Things are definitely starting to look up!'_  “Agent, who’s the new guy? He actually makes that suit looks _good_?” Tony purred smoothly as he climbed to his feet and moved towards Ianto.

                                                       

_‘A natural-born predator,’_ was the first through to go through Ianto’s mind as he watched Tony and it was immediately followed by a sharp dagger of pain through his heart as he realised how alike Tony was to Jack. _‘Butmaybe that_ _can work to_ _my advantage.’_ It shouldn't be that hard to keep Tony in line, not if he had the same appetites as Jack – namely hand-blended, freshly brewed, industrial-strength coffee.

 

“How do you do, Mr Stark,” and he offered Tony his hand in greeting. “I’m Ianto Jones and I’m your new handler, sir.”

 

_‘Oh dear God, did he just call me SIR?’_ Slipping off his glasses Tony smoothly wrapped his hand around Ianto’s. “Please, call me Tony; I think we’re going to get along just fine, Ianto.”

 

Ianto cocked an eyebrow. “Indeed, Sir.”

 

_‘Oh yeah!’_ With an erotic shiver coursing its way down his spine, Tony couldn’t hide the smirk on his face. “Oh say that again!” he commanded loving the way the man’s Welsh vowels washed over him.

 

Ianto rolled his eyes and Tony felt himself go weak in the knees. “I don’t think so, Sir.”

 

Tony stuck out his lower lip and pouted; he did really like hearing Ianto call him ‘sir’. _‘I wonder if I can get him to say that in bed? Oh that will be so hot!’_

Ianto recognized the look in Tony’s eyes – he’d seen it so many times before in Jack’s – and he wondered how long it would be before Tony started his game of seduction. _'Well I hate to disappoint you, Mr Stark, but I'm not that easy of a mark.'_

 

Tony saw the defiant gaze in Ianto's eyes and perked up. _'Oh, a challenge! I do love a good challenge. Okay, Mr Jones, bring it on! Let’s see what you've got.'_

The silent battle happening right in front of them didn't escape the knowing gazes of everyone else sitting there and Clint felt almost giddy with excitement, _'Finally some action! It’s been getting rather boring around here.'_

 

Natasha and Coulson shared a long-suffering look; they knew that Clint was immediately going to be stirring up trouble in his attempts at playing matchmaker. On the other hand it would keep him out of serious trouble which included hiding in the vents above Fury's office listening in on Phil and Natasha's assignments. _'It might actually be worth the headache of dealing with Stark’s temper tantrums once Clint starts matchmaking but I rather like Ianto and I want to keep him around for a while. But something tells me that Ianto can handle Tony and Clint with ease.’_

 

Continued silent communication between Natasha and Phil decided that while Coulson wouldn't actively _encourage_ Clint to play matchmaker but he wouldn't forbid it either and if it was decided that things were getting out of hand, then he would step in. Nothing would be allowed to interfere with Ianto’s supervision of IronMan.

 

"Well, folks, as pleasant as this has been I have things to create, places to see, objects to blow up and people throwing themselves at me. Come along, Jones, it's time you see how the other half lives." Tony finally released Ianto’s hand, winked broadly at him and then slid his expensive sunglasses over his eyes. After collecting his mobile, pad and pen from the table, he cocked a finger at Ianto as he walked past him to the door. “Come along, Jonesy, don’t be afraid; I don’t bite… much.”

 

Ianto barely refrained from rolling his eyes; _‘This is going to be a long first day.’_ Looking at the others in the room, Ianto smiled briefly. "It was nice to meet you all. I look forward to working with you and getting to know you all." As he reached the door, a voice called him back.

 

"Agent Jones, please keep him from blowing anything up while he is on SHIELD property." Fury hoped that Ianto did indeed have the skill required to keep Tony under control; just once he’d like to get through a meeting with Stark _without_ ending up with a headache.

 

"I shall do my best, Sir," Ianto promised as he headed after Tony.

 

"Man, I feel sorry for him,” Clint muttered under his breath. “I thought you liked the mini-suit but assigning him to work with Stark, that's just harsh, man." He put his feet up on the table only for them to be knocked down the very next second by his boyfriend/handler.

 

"Trust me when I say Stark has no clue what he's in for. Agent Jones is more than capable of handling him." Coulson was sure of it; if he hadn't been he would never have saddled Ianto with IronMan.

 

"I hope you’re right. He seems like a good guy and I would hate for Stark to run him off before we get a chance to get to know him. I get the distinct impression that he’s as broken as the rest of us." Natasha knew that you didn't live through something like CanaryWharf without coming back a little damaged. There was no doubt in her mind that Ianto Jones would fit in well with the rest of the broken spirits that found their way to SHIELD.

 

‘I just hope that Ianto will be one of the lucky ones who finds his little piece of the happiness that Clint has found with Phil and I’m beginning to find with Pepper.’ They all knew that true happiness was a precious commodity that was so hard to come by in their line of work. 'Even people like Tony Stark need some kind of happiness and I think he and Ianto be good for one another.’ She shook her head; ‘do not screw this up, Tony; I think Ianto's the key to your happiness.'

 

"So how long do you think it will take before Tony entices Ianto into his bed? I'm saying before the week is out." Clint's question pulled Natasha from her thoughts.

 

Fury rolled his eyes and muttered something uncomplimentary under his breath as he left the room while Coulson shook his head. A fond look entered his eyes as he looked at Clint. "I think you’ll find Agent Jones is much tougher than he looks. After all, he's already worked with another version of Tony Stark although this one was a lot less tame."

 

Clint nearly fell out of chair as he looked at Coulson in pure disbelief and horror. "There's another Tony out there? One who’s even worse? I didn't think that was possible."

 

Even Natasha had a tinge of disbelief and respect in her eyes for Ianto and a hint of a smile graced her lips. "Then I’m glad Tony has no idea what he's in for. I have a feeling it will be Ianto doing the seducing when he's good and ready to."

 

As a whole, the others had to admit that she had a good point and Clint groaned. "I do _not_ want to deal with a cranky Tony, people! You know what a pain the ass he is when he’s not getting any! You know, you might want to warn Pepper to keep her guard up and her knife close to hand; she'll be around him more than we are."

 

Natasha knew that Clint had a point as well and slowly a wicked smirk appeared on her face. “You know,” she said slowly as a naughty plan began to form. “Pepper will have a field day with Tony being interested in someone who is actually responsible and highly capable. I think she’s going to adore Ianto.”

 

“I’m suddenly feel sorry for Tony; having Pepper and Ianto teaming up on him means he isn’t going to have a whole lot of wiggle room.” Clint chuckled evilly. “It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.” He liked Tony, he really did, but at the same time it would be nice to see Tony get rejected just once and then actually have to _work_ at getting someone into his bed. _'This is going to be much more amusing than I first thought; Ianto is going to be more than a match for Tony. I suspect fireworks.'_ If he hadn’t known it would make him look like an idiot, he’d have rubbed his hands together like a classic story-book villain.

 

Natasha and Coulson exchanged a look and a sigh; at least Clint had something to amuse himself with and hopefully it might be enough to keep him out of trouble, at least for a little while. 'I have absolutely no doubt that Agent Jones will be able to handle both Stark and Clint at the same time; all he needs to do is introduce them to his coffee and they’ll become putty in his hands.' In fact, Coulson was sure of it, that and it was going to be quite amusing – and educational – to watch Clint and Tony bend to Ianto's will.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Mr Stark, I really don't think this is necessary. I will be just fine taking SHIELD jet to your labs." Ianto refused to be carried through the air as if he were helpless. “I am not a damsel in distress.”

 

Behind his Iron Man mask Tony grinned cheekily; he was rather enjoying the disgruntled look on his new handler’s face. "Come on, Jonesy, you can't tell me that you don't want the privilege of getting a ride with Iron Man himself? I promise there will be no inappropriate touching. Scout’s honour," although that didn't mean Tony didn't have plans for letting his hand accidentally slip once or twice.

 

Ianto raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Somehow I very much doubt that you've ever been a scout, Sir."

 

Tony waved his metal-covered arm in front of his helmet. "You can't see it but I'm totally pouting under here and I'm giving you big sad eyes. So come on, Agent Jones; I give you my word that I won't drop you, not even a little bit.” 

 

Ianto was stubborn not stupid, and something told him that Tony was just like Jack and would wear him down eventually. He’d discovered long ago that sometimes it was just better to give in and save himself some dignity, although giving in didn't mean he couldn't lay down some ground rules. "Very well, sir, we shall do it your way, this _one_ time. However, there will be no sightseeing; it will be a straight flight to your home."

 

Tony lifted up his arm, palm facing outward and with only three fingers raised in the classic Scout’s pledge. "I promise."

 

Ianto's eyes narrowed suspiciously; was Tony was giving in to easily? "And you will keep your hands well away from my arse at all times; there will be no 'oops-my-hand-slipped' moments. Do we have an agreement?"

 

"You really know how to break a guy's spirit, Agent Jones. I promise there will be no groping or inappropriate touching of any kind." Tony made his promise while making sure to keep one hand hidden behind his back, a hand that currently had his fingers crossed in the traditional playground fake-out. _‘Like I’m going to be able to resist groping that tempting suit clad_ _behind.’_ But first things first; he had a Welshman to impress. "All right, Mr Jones, time to come aboard for that ride." Tony opened up his metal-encased arms invitingly.

 

Still a little leery about Tony's intentions Ianto cautiously stepped into Iron Man’s embrace. "Hang on tight; this can get a little bumpy your first time out," Tony advised as his strong arms folded themselves around Ianto and the next thing Ianto knew he was being effortlessly lifted off the ground by Iron Man. 

 

Ianto clung tightly to Tony as they flew above New York City and even though it was obvious that they were taking the long, scenic route, Ianto didn’t mind the rule-breaking. His trepidation quickly disappeared and he relaxed in Iron Man’s gentle grip and his blue eyes filled with awe as he got to see the city that never sleeps in ways that very few did. "Wow!" he breathed out reverently as he saw the view of New York City that could only be seen if you were a bird or in a plane. No matter which direction he looked in he could still see the city stretched out before his eyes, and he wondered just how far it actually went. "This is absolutely amazing," Ianto murmured. “It never seems to end!”

 

Turning his passenger so he could see his face, Tony was taken aback by the pure awe shining in Ianto's eyes, and he realised right then and there that he would do everything in his power to keep it there. "StarkTower here we come." Tightening his grip on Ianto’s waist all thoughts of stealing a grope, however pleasurable, flew from Tony's mind. This was far too precious a moment Ianto and he wouldn't destroy it for anything in the world. _'There'll be time for_ _some hands-on fun later.'_

 

Setting his sights on the horizon, Tony Stark headed home.

 

******

As leery as he had been in the beginning Ianto loved the rush that came from flying high above the Earth’s surface while held safely in the confines of Tony’s arms. It was an experience that he knew he would never forget as long as he lived. After they landed on the top of StarkTower, Tony gently set his precious cargo on his feet before lifting up his helmet and taking in the sight of Ianto's tussled hair, his cheeks flushed from the wind, and his blue eyes sparkling with awe and wonder. "So how did you like your first flight on Iron Man airlines?" Tony asked, his eyes twinkling merrily.

 

"It was amazing! I've never felt so _free_!" Ianto found himself gushing uncharacteristically; regardless of the things that had come through the Rift and been stored in the Archives of both Torchwood One and Three, he had never _ever_ experienced something so amazing and wonderful. His heart was pounding with excitement as he gazed out across the horizon; even though there was work to be done, he wanted to go flying again, right away!

 

Tony found the effect of his first flight on Ianto was really quite erotic and he wanted to kiss his new handler right then and there. In fact, he wouldn’t have said no to ripping off all their clothing and making love right on the rooftop, because he had never seen anyone as beautiful as the Welshman looked at that very moment. Somehow he managed to quell that desire and shove it back down from whence it came… at least for now. "So ol’ Super Agent tells me that you make the most orgasmic coffee on this planet,” Tony asked in a casual tone; he was quite please to find that he sounded perfectly normal. “When do I get my first taste?"

 

"If you have the _proper_ …” Ianto quirked a challenging eyebrow, “…equipment for coffee I’ll make you a cup right now."

 

Tony's eyes lit up with anticipatory pleasure. "I'm sure we have everything you could possibly need and then some, including a top of the line coffeemaker and the best coffee beans available." He grinned as he watched Ianto's eyes light up even more. "I take it that you pleases you?" Tony asked with a teasing grin.

 

"Lead me to your kitchen, sir, and by the time you're out of that armour I will have a cup of my coffee waiting for you." Ianto vowed to himself that he would make a cup of coffee that would knock Tony's socks off.

 

"I can't wait." Tony grinned as he headed in and as soon as he was out of Ianto’s sight, rough, tough Iron Man did a little happy dance down the hallway. Not only was Ianto Jones in his kitchen at that very moment, but he was going to be the first person to taste the gorgeous Welshman’s legendary, to-die-for coffee!

******

When Tony Stark said he couldn't wait he _really_ meant he couldn't wait. Tony didn't think he'd ever gotten out of his suit as fast as he did that day; he might even have broken Jack Harkness’ record for getting naked. He even managed to beat the coffee being done, so he sat himself down at his kitchen island happily but quietly watched Ianto move about his kitchen.  Tony marvelled at Ianto's natural grace as he stepped from the sink to the refrigerator to the counter, although he particularly enjoyed the way Ianto's trousers stretched across his bum when he crouched down to collect a serving tray from beneath the counter.

 

Well used to feeling heated looks on that particular part of his body – in fact, he was pretty sure that when the day came and his lifeless body was autopsied, the coroner would find permanent scorch marks on his ass cheeks – so Ianto easily ignored Tony's gaze on his backside. Despite that, as he focused on the coffee he was making, he could feel his cheeks heating up and Ianto silently cursed himself for blushing so easily. Taking a deep breath Ianto willed himself under control as he watched the coffee machine hiss and sputter it’s last few drops into the pot. He’d had a lot of practice in keeping a bland mask firmly in place; after all he had worked for both Yvonne and Jack, never letting either one of them see his true emotions. He’d learned very early on with Torchwood that revealing one’s true self was asking for trouble so by the time he’d finished preparing his and Tony's cups of coffee he had his blush safely under control. "Here you go, sir, I hope you enjoy it."

 

Cautiously Tony took the offered cup of coffee and lifted it to his face and took a tentative sniff. "You're not going to try and poison me, are you?"

 

Ianto had a look of appalled horror on his face. "Of course not, sir! That would be a waste of a perfectly good cup of coffee!" He was totally insulted by the idea that he would ruin a cup of his perfectly blended and brewed coffee with poison.

 

"All right, I'll trust your word on that. JARVIS, if I die you know who to contact," Tony reminded his AI.

 

"Indeed, sir, but I should point out that I would have not detected any foreign substances in your cup. It should be fine." JARVIS informed Tony.

 

Tony still had a slightly suspicious look in his eyes as he took his first sip of Ianto's coffee and then a purely pornographic moan escaped Tony's lips as the first drop of luxurious nectar landed on his tongue. Pausing just long enough to announce, "JARVIS, make a mental note that Ianto is not allowed to make coffee for anyone but me." Tony knew that he was being selfishly obsessive – or was it obsessively selfish? – with Ianto's coffee but it was truly ambrosia fit for the Gods. Tony decided that he would be damned if he was going to let anyone else get a taste of this hot, delicious heaven because he knew they’d try to steal his Ianto away from him.

 

“This is pure sin in a cup and I can think of only one thing that could possibly top it,” he declared as he peered mischievously over the rim of his mug. 

 

Taken aback, Ianto frowned in confusion; he considered Jack to be the penultimate coffee fanatic and he’d never said anything like that. He was also aware that Tony was flirting with him and even though he didn’t want to play along, he had to know what could possibly be better than a cup of his freshly-brewed coffee. _‘Egotistical much, Jones’_ he silently snarked. “All right, I’ll bite. What would you rather have than a cup of my coffee?”

 

“Oh, it’s not that big a deal,” Tony purred his eyes darkened with lust as he stared straight into Ianto's eyes. “Just Ianto’s coffee-flavoured kisses.”

 

Once again, Ianto felt a faint flush appear on his face at the tone Tony used; it was the one he’d heard from Jack so many times before the whole Lisa debacle. With a jolt he discovered that the memory actually hurt his heart, not because he missed Jack, (which he did, but he refused to admit it) but because he didn’t realise how much he missed having someone actually want him. Oh sure, Jack had flirted with him but then he was Captain Jack Harkness and he flirted with everyone.

 

Then there was the whole Gwen ‘thing’ and the knowledge that as soon as she had arrived Ianto was no longer important enough, no longer interesting enough, no longer challenging enough. He’d been tossed aside like a broken toy for something shiny and new, someone who blatantly threw herself at Jack every chance she got. Pushed to the periphery of Jack’s emotions and attention, Ianto had felt very small and insignificant.

 

But with Tony the feeling was quite different, more genuine, perhaps?  Ianto didn’t have anything to base that feeling on – he’d only known Tony Stark for a few hours, so the man could turn out to be just as big a reprobate as Jack, but still, the feeling  persisted and Ianto wasn't sure how he felt about that just yet. "Well while I'm glad to see you survived my coffee, sir, you should know that I won't hesitate to put you on decaf as punishment."

 

An outraged pout graced Tony's face. "That's just a downright cruel and unnecessary punishment!"

 

A wicked grin appeared on Ianto’s face and Tony felt himself melt on the inside. “Why else do you think I use it as a deterrent to bad behaviour? I’m not boasting when I say that one taste of my coffee makes all others pale in comparison. So a word to the wise: you really should stay on my good side; and that way you won’t have to taste my _decaf_.” From the way Ianto spoke the word ‘decaf’, Tony got the distinct impression that it was the nastiest substance known to man and he shuddered violently.

 

“You’re a cruel, cruel man, Ianto Jones,” Tony sulked; he _hated_ behaving but something in his coffee-king’s eyes told him Ianto wasn’t making an idle threat. “I thought you liked me,” and he made his lower lip quiver.

 

“My job is not to like you, Mr Stark; my job is to keep you under control and if that means putting you on decaf then so be it. I’m sure that Director Fury would agree with my choice of punishment,” Ianto pointed out reasonably and calmly.

 

“Fine! Have it your way! I’ll behave, for now.” Tony wasn’t about to lose such delicious coffee. “But trust me, sooner or later I’m going to find a way around that rule of yours,” he vowed.

 

“Thank you for the warning. I look forward to the challenge, sir,” Ianto declared with a raised eyebrow.

 

*****

Tony Stark was pouting which was not an unusual sight for Pepper to stumble upon but the pout first of all quite dramatic, and second, it was directed at a handsome young man in a suit who didn’t seem at all fazed by the attitude being sent his way.

 

“Hello, you must be Miss Potts; it’s nice to meet you, I’m Ianto Jones, Mr Stark’s new handler.” Ianto offered his hand with a smile.

 

Pepper Potts knew instantly that she was going to adore Ianto Jones from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Mr Jones, but please call me Pepper. Anyone who can control Tony like this is aces in my book.” _‘It’s nice to meet a true gentleman,’_ she thought approvingly.

 

“Traitor!” Tony called from his spot on the couch glaring at his friend. “You’re supposed to be on my side, Pepper, not his!”

 

“Not if having Mr Jones around means you’ll stop blowing stuff up. This is the first time in a long time I haven’t smelt smoke in the air,” Pepper calmly reminded Tony. “It’s actually quite nice around here when the smoke alarms are silent and there’s no fire extinguisher residue covering everything,” she nodded approvingly.

 

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Tony protested and at Pepper's disbelieving look he shot to his feet and gestured to the ceiling. "Tell them, JARVIS, when was the last time I set anything on fire?" he demanded.

 

"Last night, sir; your experiment was to have been taken place this morning but you had your meeting with SHIELD scheduled for the same time and because you wanted to get there early enough to annoy the agents and Director Fury, you performed your experiment and set your desk chair on fire," JARVIS quickly informed them. “It was a brand new chair, sir, purchased after you blew up last one.”

 

"Et tu, Jarvis? Where's the loyalty?" Red-faced with mild anger and huge embarrassment, Tony growled as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared heatedly at everyone.

 

Ianto shook his head a small smile playing on his lips as Tony and Pepper began to playfully argue. For the first time in a long time he felt such true happiness fill his soul that he was a little breathless; not since he’d lost everyone he’d cared about at Torchwood One had he felt such a lightness of spirit. Yes, this might be the chance he needed to find some peace and joy again, which he knew would mean he was free from the curse that was Torchwood once and for all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"It's been four months, Nat; I was so sure that Tony would have cracked by now, but he's actually being a gentleman about this. At first it was cute but now it's driving me insane! I mean, you can cut the sexual tension between them with a knife, for Pete’s sake!" Pepper ranted to Natasha as she paced the floor of her office. “It’s just not natural!”

 

Curled up on the couch in Pepper's office Natasha readily agreed with her girlfriend. Pepper wasn’t the only one who felt this way; heaven knew both men wanted to advance their relationship. Clint, always the entrepreneur, had taken to running a betting pool within five minutes of seeing about the electricity between Tony and Ianto. Wagers had been placed on everything from when the two men would get together to where that would take place to who would make the first move and even included how far they’d go physically on that first encounter. Ianto’s suit and tie combinations had quickly become renowned amongst the SHIELD staff and agents and there were side bets on what suit and which tie the man would be wearing when things finally kicked off.

 

The gamblers were all getting frustrated by the fact that Tony hadn’t yet made a move on Ianto but Clint, on the other hand, was secretly pleased that he had to keep pushing the dates further and further out. So far he was making a fortune off his little side project.

 

The longer they worked together the closer Tony and Ianto grew and the obvious chemistry between them sent sparks flying every time they so much as looked at one another. Yet, neither had made a move to encourage the other, which shocked everyone considering that this was Tony Stark they were talking about. From the first day he’d joined SHIELD, he’d tried it on in one fashion or another with pretty much every single person on the payroll, including Director Fury himself. Of course, that was on Tony’s very first day, which almost became his very last day, and he quickly and permanently learned his lesson there. It was so unusual to see him _not_ making a move on someone he clearly wanted that people Tony Stark was the hottest topic of conversation around SHIELD’s water cooler.

 

Things finally got to the point where Pepper and Natasha had taken to plotting together; they were both so incredibly tired of walking into a room to find that Tony’s sex life – or lack thereof – was the main topic of conversation. The extreme sexual tension between the two men was contagious and the number of hook-ups, casual or not, spiked throughout SHIELD. The woman decided that if Tony and Ianto weren’t going to – as Pepper so delicately put it – get their heads out of their asses and do anything about their ‘situation’, then they’d given up the right to deal with their own love lives. That meant that the responsibility for getting two stubborn men to act on their feelings for one another would fall into the hands two far saner women.

 

Natasha unfurled her long legs and enjoyed a luxurious, cat-like stretch before saying, "You know, even Fury has begun saying something and he’s never really cared about the love lives of anyone in SHIELD unless it interfered with daily operations or field missions. We really need to find a way to get those two together before Fury steps in and does it for us." She had seen firsthand the way the two men behaved during their missions; Tony and Ianto would try and keep their feelings under wrap but the moment either one of them was in danger nothing else mattered. "I really thought after those A.I.M. members shot Ianto that they would finally act on their feelings for one another."

 

Never had Natasha seen Tony as furious as he was when Ianto had been shot in the back by a member of A.I.M. Channelling his anger into deadly accuracy, Iron Man had taken out every single soldier that stood between him and Ianto and then, with care they had never seen him exercise before, Tony had gently lifted Ianto into his arms and flown him back to the Helicarrier. After seeing the pure emotion lying bare on Tony’s face, everyone had believed that that would be the breaking point, and that Iron Man’s iron will had been broken. The most romantic of them had dreamed that nearly losing Ianto would send Tony straight to his hospital bed where he would drop to his knee and proclaim his everlasting love for the young Welshman.

 

Well, it was _not_ the breaking point and there _were_ no over-the-top romantic gestures, which left everyone at the end of their proverbial ropes trying to figure out what cataclysmic event would have to take place in order to get them to finally act on their feelings.

 

The jingle of a new email message in her inbox halted Pepper from continuing with whatever she was going to say. With a quick smile of apology to Natasha, she read the message and her eyebrows immediately rose and disappeared beneath her hairline. She looked up at Natasha with her mouth gaping open.

 

The look on Pepper’s face got Natasha's attention and she bolted from the couch to join Pepper at her desk. “Honey, what’s wrong? Is someone hurt?” She steeled herself to hear the worst.

 

"Tony's teaching Ianto how to use his Iron Man suit."

 

Pepper pointed to her laptop and right there on the screen in full colour was a live video feed from JARVIS showing Ianto down in Tony's lab wearing one of Iron Man's gloves. Sharing a look of amusement and hope – Tony had never, _ever_ allowed anyone to try on a piece of his armour. Pepper brought the laptop to the low table in front of the couch while Natasha got them each a bottle of juice from the little office fridge and then they got as comfortable as they could. This just might be the moment they – and everyone else at SHIELD were waiting for.

 

*****  
Ianto had no idea how on God’s green Earth he’d allowed Tony to talk him into this as he allowed Dummy to help him into the Iron Man glove. _‘This is a bad idea,’_ Ianto thought as he finished placing the armoured glove on his hand, but Tony wanted Ianto to learn how to use one of the suits. After the incident with A.I.M. he was adamant that should it come down to it Ianto needed to be able to defend himself from any great threat.

 

Grinning from his spot on the stairs as he spotted his prey all alone Tony moved silently towards the unsuspecting Welshman. His eyes drank in the sight of Ianto dressed in faded blue jeans whose age-softened fabric hugged that oh-so-delicious behind he’d drooling over since day one and he licked his lips hungrily as he moved to stand behind Ianto.

 

A shiver coursed through Ianto’s whole body at the feeling of Tony’s fingers wrapping around his hand, and he swallowed hard as the older man pressed the length of his body against his own. “Just relax and breathe,” Tony whispered seductively into Ianto’s ear and as he raised Ianto's arm up, Ianto again shivered as he felt Tony’s breath hot against his skin.

 

A shaky breath escaped through Ianto’s parted lips as he forced his body to relax into Tony’s and he tried to listen carefully, he really did, as the older man whispered in his ear how to use the metal glove but all he could focus on was how good it felt to be pressed against Tony. "Now what?" Ianto was so very pleased when his voice came out strong and confident instead of weak and shaky like he feared it might.

 

Having Ianto's delicious body flush against his was all pushing the limits of Tony's control; never had it felt so good, so right and so wonderful to be so close to another human being. It took all his willpower not to snap and claim the young man right then and there. "Take aim at the target Dummy's holding up and keep your legs well braced; there’s quite the kickback." Tony would have said that if Ianto missed the target and accidentally ended up hitting Dummy not to worry about it, but for some reason he couldn't explain to Ianto the inventor actually liked his bots.

 

As Ianto sited down the length of his arm at the target, an insidious little thought started creeping up on him but rather than let the memory of his shooting lesson with Jack Harkness become fully realised, he forced it back down where it belonged, in the past. Ianto took a deep, steadying breath and braced himself against Tony as he activated the trigger and fired the blaster; thankfully he managed to hit the side of the target and not on the side that Dummy was holding. Mentally he marked it down as a success.

 

"Not bad for your first shot. With some practice I'm sure you'll be a crack shot in no time." Tony's voice washed over Ianto like a tidal wave; he was rather pleased with how fast Ianto caught on but then again he'd seen how good Ianto was with a stun gun and a hand gun. As far as Tony was concerned, the Welshman was an ass-kicking ninja in a suit – a _sexy_ , ass-kicking ninja, he quickly amended.

 

Ianto grinned proudly at the praise Tony gave him; it felt nice and it stirred something in him that he hadn't felt since Lisa.

 

It felt like belonging, it felt like home. He was no longer alone.

 

Tony saw the flash of emotion in Ianto's eyes and while part of him wanted to ask, he refrained from prying. He knew that like him Ianto hadn't grown up in the most loving family, but unlike Ianto, he’d been lucky enough to find another family in Pepper and Rhodey. Lately that new family had grown to include a certain Coulson, Clint and Natasha but if Tony was honest with himself Ianto had a far different role in the family of his heart. As he held Ianto against him and as he felt Ianto’s pride in his accomplishment and his pleasure at being praised radiating from him, the urge to kiss Ianto grew to the point where it began to actually hurt Tony. Finally he couldn't deny himself any longer.

 

Turning Ianto in his arms, Tony paused for a second and looked deeply into Ianto’s eyes before leaning forward and tasting lips that were just as soft as Tony imagined they would be. After only a moment of shocked stillness, he felt Ianto return the kiss with increasing interest.

 

And it was like a dam burst. Months of longing and passion came pouring forth like waves crashing against a rocky shore. Tony and Ianto lost themselves in the power of their kiss and in the feeling of each other’s body as target practice was quickly forgotten. Between them, the men barely managed to get Iron Man’s glove safely onto the table before reason vanished all together.

 

A low mechanical whine escaped Dummy as he hastily put down the target and slunk off to the side and out of the door so he wouldn’t have to view the show that was about to happen.

 

*****

"Well! I guess our plans are no longer needed," Natasha muttered and when Tony hands began drifting down even further as she clicked the mouse and closed the feed, ignoring Pepper’s little huff of annoyance.

 

Pepper blinked at the now blank screen, a faint blush on her cheeks; even though she'd dealt with many of Tony's passing interests before something told her that with Ianto things were very, very different. _'I really hope that this time it's the real thing, I just want to see you happy, Tony, and I think with Ianto you could be.'_ "So who gets to tell Clint that his betting pool is over?" Pepper asked.

 

Natasha merely grinned wickedly as she reached for the computer mouse again. "He won't believe us without proof and I think this time-stamped video will speak for itself," Natasha pointed out gleefully as she entered an address and hit send. _'I wonder if I'll be able to hear Clint's cries of anguish from here?'_ Natasha knew that Clint had bet on Tony and Ianto getting together sometime next week; in fact he was so sure that he had picked the right day that he’d already spent his winnings on a new game system.

 

"So who won the pool?" Pepper’s eyes were shining with amusement; she knew exactly what had put that look in her girlfriend's eyes.

 

Amusement danced in Natasha's eyes as she answered with the curve of a smile on her lips, "Phil."

 

"Well Tony doesn't call him Super Agent for nothing. At least Clint can still claim a small share of the money," Pepper pointed out. "That should make him happy."

 

"You would think." Natasha climbed to her feet and offered Pepper her hand. "Come on, I don't think your boss would mind you taking an early day for once."

 

Grinning Pepper took Natasha's hand; she really shouldn't but she was sure there was nothing that couldn't wait until tomorrow to deal with. After all, Tony owed her big time for keeping his company afloat and a few extra hours away from the office was a small step in the right direction.

 

*****

It had been a long time – too long, actually – since Ianto awoke to the feeling of a warm body curled against him and it felt nice. The warmth Tony offered staved off the chill of the early morning and while Ianto wasn't sure what they were doing or where it was going he planned on enjoying every minute of it for as long as it lasted.

 

Movement behind him alerted Ianto to the fact that he was not the only one awake and he grinned happily to himself. Shifting so he could look over his shoulder he came face-to-face with a still partially-asleep Tony and Ianto didn’t bother to fight the urge to smile at how adorable the man looked when he was just waking up. "Good morning," Ianto greeted softly.

 

Tony grinned pleased to see no hints of panic or worse, remorse in Ianto's eyes. "Good morning to you, too. I take it there's no early morning regrets?" he asked snuggling in closer to his handsome young lover.

 

Ianto lifted his hand and began running his fingers through Tony's sleep-tussled hair. "Nope, no regrets,” and his hand drifted down to caress Tony’s whisker-roughened cheek. “It's been a long time since I've been so happy,” now his thumb rubbed across Tony’s lips, “and while I'm not sure where this is going, I know I want to give this a chance." Ianto leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Tony’s mouth.

 

Relieved beyond measure that his new lover was as happy as he was, Tony let out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding. "I want that too,” he reached out and took Ianto’s hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the back. With a rueful grin he admitted, “Relationships have never been my strong suit and I need you to have patience with me,” he raided Ianto’s hand to his lips and kissed it before turning it over and placing a kiss in its palm. “these are untested waters for me and I’ll warn you right now, I'm probably going to mess up." He smiled again, “in fact, I know I will.”

 

Ianto shifted fully around so he could look Tony straight in the eyes, not noticing that he’d dragged the bed covers down to waist level. "Lisa was my first real relationship and we all know how that ended, so I think we're both going to need to have patience with one another. But there is one thing I want to make clear right now…” Ianto warned with a growl in his voice. “I do _not_ share well with others."

 

Tony however had noticed that Ianto’s chest was exposed and he licked his lips in anticipation. "Well that's good to know because I have no plans on sharing you. Not with anyone." Tony's tone held a distinctly possessive note and Ianto felt his lover’s grip tighten slightly around his waist it slipped a little lower. Ianto’s belly quivered with lust as Tony’s fingers grazed the upper curve of his butt cheek.

 

 “I'm glad we’re agreed on that," Ianto purred seductively as he shifted again, closing the gap between their bodies, his eyes heating up as he pressed a butterfly kiss against Tony's lips.

 

After chasing down Ianto’s lips for a more intensive kiss, a growl rumbled from deep within Tony's chest as he rolled Ianto over onto his back and then settled atop him. He purposely squirmed around for a moment, grinding their erections together before kissing his new lover until they were both breathless. He was in no hurry; they still had plenty of time to spend learning more about what the other man enjoyed before they had to get up and Tony didn't plan on wasting a single moment.

 

******

The finally sated lovers had a visitor waiting for them when they left Tony’s… well now _their_ bedroom later that morning. Seated on the couch, wearing a sullen glare on his handsome face Clint greeted them with, “Thanks a lot, you two!”

 

“Umm…” Tony and Ianto looked at each other with confusion, a silent _‘Do you know what he’s talking about?’_ passing between them. “You’re welcome?” Tony responded uncertainly while Ianto asked,

 

“Have we done something to offend you, Clint?”

 

“You might say that, Ianto,” the archer groused at them with a sulky snarl. "You couldn't wait just one more week, could you?"

 

“Oh for Pete’s sake!” Ianto rolled his eyes in mild exasperation. “Is that what has your knickers in a twist?”

 

Tony grinned broadly, knowing his good humour was really annoying Clint. "So who won the pool?" He was highly amused as he heard Clint grumble under his breath. “Oh yeah, we know…” a quick glance at Ianto told him that Ianto knew about it as well. “…all about your little betting pool, my friend.”

 

Again, Clint mumbled something under his breath that had Tony cupping his ear and leaning in closer. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that, could you please repeat that?"

 

Snarling under his breath and shooting Tony a glare that if looks could kill would have made Tony nothing but a pile of ash on the floor in a heartbeat, Clint reluctantly repeated, "I _said_ Phil won the pot."

 

At that pronouncement, Tony burst out into gales of hearty laughter and even Ianto let a chuckle or two escape as they watched Clint’s pout grow to near temper tantrum strength.

 

“It’s not that funny,” Clint whinged and Ianto would later swear that he witnessed Hawkeye stamp his foot in childish frustration.

 

“Actually it is!” Struggling to catch his breath, Tony finally managed to gasp out through his snickers, “So I take it he’s not up to sharing?”

 

Clint crossed his arms over his chest and scowled deeply. “He spent it all on Lola.”

 

Immediately picturing a voluptuous red-head with an hourglass figure and a sultry voice, Ianto shared a look with Tony _‘Do you know her? No, I don’t; do you?’_ “And who is Lola?” Ianto asked gently.

 

Suddenly realising he’d revealed too much information, Clint sighed and performed an excellent imitation of Ianto when he rolled his eyes; he knew that this was only going to set them off again. “Lola’s his car.”

 

As his imaginary sex goddess lingered in his mind for a moment – _‘even inter-galactic playboy Jack Harkness never had claimed an automobile as a girlfriend!’_ – Ianto then blinked in surprise as reality set in.

 

Tony, on the other hand, clutched his stomach as he doubled over in pure laughter. “He spent it on his car and not you? This is too priceless!” Tony collapsed onto the floor – he’d tried for the couch, but just missed it and howled with uncontrollable laughter. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he was able to get out between his laughs, “You must be the cheap date, then!”

 

For a moment, as he watched Clint’s face turn red and a murderous glint appear in his eyes, Ianto worried about Tony’s health; there was a good chance he could either choke himself or Clint was going to kill him and from the look in the archer’s eyes the latter was a very strong possibility. “Did you even talk to Phil about the winning pot or did you simply storm off in an immature pout?” Ianto asked and at Clint’s sheepish look Ianto rolled his eyes. It was no wonder Tony and Clint got along so well, they were both such children. “JARVIS, how soon shall Agent Coulson be arriving?”

 

“Agent Coulson is five minutes away, Master Ianto. Shall I alert you when he arrives?” JARVIS asked.

 

"That would be wonderful, JARVIS.” Realising he only had a few minutes to get both men under control, Ianto thought fast. “Who would like a cup of coffee?" he asked with a knowing grin on his face. It was rather amusing to watch as Tony and Clint tripped all over themselves in an attempt to reach the kitchen first. "JARVIS, are Pepper and Natasha along with Agent Coulson?" Ianto asked once the other two were out of earshot.

 

"Indeed they are, sir. I take it you're not informing Mr Stark or Agent Barton of that little fact?" There was a hint of approval in JARVIS' voice.

 

"Of course not! How else am I going to keep Clint from bolting? I don’t think my coffee’s that good!  If he knew that Natasha was on her way he’d be long gone before they even got to the gate," Ianto said with a smirk on his face.

 

"Very wise indeed, sir." If Ianto's ears weren't deceiving him it almost sounded like JARVIS was taking enjoyment out of the entire situation. Given how sentient Torchwood’s mainframe had been Ianto knew he shouldn't be surprised if JARVIS was developing a sassy program of his own, considering who created him.

 

*****

When Natasha came waltzing through the front door behind Coulson, Clint glared at Ianto and stated, "Traitor!" although he wasn’t upset enough to surrender his mug of coffee.

 

Natasha and Ianto shared an eye roll and seeing that, both Tony and Clint shivered at how much they looked alike; it had surprised everyone with how close Ianto and Natasha had come in such a few short months. Of course Natasha had simply explained that since she and Ianto had to work with the two biggest children in SHIELD it was no wonder they sought each other out for intelligent, adult conversation.

 

When Clint heard the phrase ‘adult conversation’, his mind naturally wandered into slightly pornographic territory, and his naughty thoughts must have shown on his face because Natasha slapped him hard enough on the back of the head to nearly knock him out of his chair as she growled, “I’m talking about _grown_ - _up_ conversation, something you’re obviously NOT familiar with!”

 

Once they’d had a chance to think about it, Tony and Clint had been more than a little insulted by her description of them as ‘children’, but considering they had been caught so many times playing pranks on the newbies they couldn't complain too loudly.

 

Wearing a look of loving exasperation, Phil Coulson crossed his arms over his chest and stared at his partner. "Are you done sulking yet? Or should I return your new toy to the SHIELD scientists?" 

 

Ianto reached out just in time to catch Clint’s falling mug, catching it mere inches from the floor and setting it on the counter while Natasha was convinced that if Clint were a puppy he would be wagging his tail and slobbering all over them right at that moment. "Present? You got me something?"

 

"Seriously? You didn't notice the bright red bow?" Natasha asked with pure disbelief dripping off her every word.

 

Clint shrugged nonchalantly, went to sip his coffee and then frowned when he realised that he no longer had his mug. Spying it on the counter, he retrieved it and again went to take a sip only to discover his cup was empty. He looked around forlornly, as if he’d just lost his best friend. Ianto took pity on the man, held up the pot of freshly-made brew invitingly and then grinned when both Tony and Clint held out their mugs.  

 

Once again fortified with liquid courage, Clint grinned again. "You expect me to notice anything when I've some of Ianto's coffee in my hand? You must be out of your mind!" It was a common state of mind around SHIELD that the rest of the world faded away while having a cup of Ianto's coffee.

 

Before any of the new arrivals could ask, Ianto produced three more cups of coffee seemingly out of nowhere. Tony was convinced that it was Ianto's super power, the gift for knowing when his coffee was needed, that and the ability to make the _greatest_ coffee known to anyone on planet Earth. A wee part of Tony still wondered if Ianto was planning to take over the world by slowly addicting the population to his special brew but as long as Ianto made him his royal consort then things would be just fine. After their lusty activities of the previous night, he would have no problem in worshipping Ianto Jones, Coffee King, whatsoever.

 

Tony was pulled out of his daydreams of Ianto in black leather and a crown, with a riding crop in one hand and a pot of coffee in the other, by Pepper gently nudging him in the side. "I'm happy for you, Tony; he's going to be good for you," she whispered softly.

 

A softness that Pepper had never seen before appeared in Tony's eyes as he watched Ianto set out a sugar bowl and several flavoured creamers. While Ianto didn’t approve of their use in his exquisitely blended brews, he wasn’t going to deprive his friends of their preferences. "Yeah, I he is."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 

Months flew past in a blur of experiments and missions and Ianto and Tony grew ever closer as their relationship developed and grew stronger with each passing day and it was obvious to everyone at SHEILD that true love was blooming between them. However, no one else knew that neither man was will to take the biggest chance of their life, neither man wanted to be the first to say those three little words that would change their lives forever.

 

All that changed when, for the first time since he’d started working with Iron Man, Ianto witnessed Tony get seriously injured.

 

It had started out as a run-of-the-mill mission, no big deal and no one was expecting any problems. What their confidential informant either hadn't known or didn’t bother to tell them was that this time the enemy had weapons that were far stronger than anything Iron Man currently had. Ianto could only watch with open-mouthed horror as the man he had come to love with all his heart was blasted out of the sky and went plummeting to the ground at an alarming speed.

 

"Tony!" Ianto screamed as he started running toward his lover. Nothing else mattered to Ianto at that moment but getting to Tony.

 

Ianto had no clue how he reached Tony's side so quickly; it was later on, during the team’s debriefing when Clint was retelling the story that Ianto Jones was a stun-gunning, ass-kicking ninja machine, who took out all the enemies who got in his way without blinking an eye. 

 

Ianto collapsed next to Tony's fallen body and ever-so-carefully lifted off his helmet; the sight of the deeply dented armour worried and scared Ianto. _‘I cannot survive losing another lover, not like this!’_ Ianto fought back the flashbacks of CanaryWharf and ignored the phantom burning pain in his hands from pulling Lisa out of the fire. 

 

Fighting to hide his pain from his lover, Tony gently cupped Ianto's face with his hands. "Hey, I'm okay," he whispered when he saw the haunted look appearing in Ianto's eyes.

 

It took a moment for Ianto look at Tony; he just couldn't tear his eyes off the damaged armour. "You could have died today, Tony! You're only mortal!” Realising how antagonistic his words sounded, Ianto reached up and gripped both of Tony’s hands in his. In a softer tone he continued, “I could have lost you, Cariad, and you would have never know how much I truly care about you," Ianto took a deep shuddering breath as he looked Tony in the eyes and he laid his heart on the line, "how much I love you."

 

His pain fading away at Ianto’s declaration, Tony surged forward and kissed Ianto with all the passion his heart held; for so long he’d been waiting to hear those words from Ianto. “I love you too.” He pressed another albeit quicker kiss to Ianto's lips. "Now how about we go kick some ass and then head home where we can have a proper celebration?"

 

A choked half-sob half-laugh escaped Ianto's lips as he nodded his head. "That sounds like a plan to me." Ianto pressed his lips against Tony's a second time before he pulled back and helped his lover back to his feet. Suddenly the damage to Iron Man’s armour wasn’t so bad after all; after all, it had saved his lover’s life.

 

Tony paused before putting his helmet back on and he looked at Ianto curiously. “What did that mean, what you called me? Cadid?”

 

Smiling at Tony’s attempt to repeat the word, Ianto stroked a gentle hand along his lover’s cheek. “Cariad,” he repeated slowly. “It means beloved in Welsh.” Ianto’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You are my beloved.”

 

Overcome by an unexpected wave of emotion, Tony quickly slipped his helmet over his head, hiding the tears in his eyes. Past lovers had called him a lot of different things, but none of them had ever affected him so strongly. “Cariad,” he said quietly to himself. “Beloved.”

 

Ianto knew that his and Tony's relationship had changed dramatically but he had no idea what other changes that were still to come.

 

******

Any plans that Tony and Ianto made for their post-mission celebrations were put on hold when, the moment they were back in the Helicarrier, Tony was whisked away by the SHIELD doctors and Ianto was called to the command bridge.

 

Phil Coulson could tell that Ianto Jones did not want to be at the briefing; no, it was obvious to even the most casual of observers that he would rather be down in medical bay with Tony. Phil understood that feeling all too well, Clint had spent more than his fair share of time in the medical bay and it was tough not being there for them. But Fury had requested Ianto's attendance on the bridge immediately and no one refused Nick Fury.

 

Arriving on the bridge Ianto came face-to-face with someone he thought he would never see again. “Tosh? What are you doing here?” The pure shock in Ianto’s voice was clear as he spotted Toshiko standing next to Jasper Sitwell of all people.

“Toshiko Sato is our newest SHIELD Agent,” Fury informed Ianto. "Agent Sitwell has been assigned to show her around but I thought you would want to know about Miss Sato's arrival right away."

 

"Yes, sir, you would be correct." Ianto could hardly believe his eyes; it really was his Tosh right there before him.

 

Tosh smiled warmly at her old friend before looking up at Jasper. “Would you mind if I spoke to Ianto for a bit? We have a lot to catch up on.”

 

Jasper shook his head a faint flush on his cheeks. "No, that's fine; I'll catch up with you afterwards. You do remember where the mess hall is?" Tosh nodded back with her own blush colouring her cheeks.

 

Ianto looked between Tosh and Jasper; he was surprised to see the normally calm and collected tech genius blushing like a schoolgirl. _'Good for you, Tosh, you deserve a chance at happiness.'_ “I’ll take good care of her for you,” Ianto promised and fought back the smile that wanted to break forth at the delightful blush that appeared on both their cheeks.

 

"Shall we?" Ianto offered Tosh his arm and with a smile Tosh slid her arm into Ianto's as the young man turned his attention to Phil. "Please tell Tony I will be down to see him the moment the doctors give the all clear." Ianto wanted to spend time with Tosh but at the same time he wanted his lover to know that he would be right there the moment he was allowed to be.

 

A hint of a smile appeared on Coulson's face. "I will be happy to inform him." He knew that the old friends had much to catch up on.

 

Tosh looked at Ianto with expectant curiosity. “Tony?”

 

Ianto had the grace to blush before her knowing eyes. “Let’s walk and talk, okay?”

 

******

It wasn’t easy, but after collecting a couple of sandwiches Ianto and Tosh managed to find a quiet corner in the cafeteria and after they’d eaten, Ianto made a pot of his coffee much to the joy of everyone else lucky enough to be there. Tosh blinked in amazement and then wisely got out of the way when there was a mad rush across the room for Ianto's coffee. As Ianto set their mugs down on the table, she grinned cheekily. "I see something's never change! I swear, Ianto, in no time you'll be ruling the world."

 

Hearing his best friend echo his lover’s words brought an amused smile to Ianto's lips. "I very much doubt that will be happening any time soon. Tony doesn't like to share and he's afraid that someone will become addicted to my blends and try to steal me away to satisfy their vice, so he doesn’t like it when I make a pot anywhere but home. It's a rare treat for them to get my coffee."

 

Tosh’s ears perked up; “Home? I there something I should know about?” She sipped her coffee and continued, “Is this home with the Tony you mentioned earlier?”

 

Unable to stop it, Ianto blushed to the tips of his ears. “Tony Stark, yes. You’ll meet him later; he’s in the med bay being checked out after a mission went south on us.” Determined to change the subject, he asked, “Speaking of med bays, how’s Owen these days?”

 

“He’s fine.” Toshiko concentrated on the contents of her coffee cup. Hearing the terse tone of Tosh’s response, Ianto wisely decided not to pursue the topic.

Ianto really had meant to keep up to date about the goings-on of Torchwood but he’d had his hands full with Tony and SHIELD. Regretfully that meant that his friendship with Tosh had slipped through the cracks; hopefully now, though, he could make things up to her and as Ianto studied his friend he finally asked, “Not that I’m not happy to see you, Tosh, because I am, but why are you here?” Ianto had honestly believed that there was nothing that could be tear Tosh away from Torchwood or Jack.

 

Tosh stared into her coffee cup she had truly missed Ianto’s coffee and its comfortable familiarity gave her the courage to get through the next few horribly difficult minutes. Drawing a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and looked Ianto in the eye. “Jack’s gone, Ianto. After you left things just fell apart.” She shrugged and a look of helplessness crossed her face. “There was a string of murders all with one thing in common, the culprit left Torchwood’s name smeared on walls or floors in the victim’s blood. Cardiff’s detectives were at a loss, but Gwen happened to be at the constable’s office visiting with Andy Davidson and she saw an artist’s rendering of the murder weapon.” She paused and sipped her coffee.

 

“Do you remember that metal glove and the bladed weapon we recovered from the Bay? The ones you named the Risen Mitten and the Life Knife? Well, somehow she managed to convince Jack that we should allow her to use the glove to bring Suzie back from the dead. Only what we didn’t know at the time was that that was exactly what Suzie had planned on; somehow she’d figured out that there was a connection between the knife and the glove.”

 

Ianto stared at Tosh, utterly gobsmacked by the story she was telling. He had no idea what to say, though, so he merely sipped his coffee.

 

“I don’t know how she did it, Ianto, but before she died Suzie set a plan in motion that would bring her back to life and not for just the two minutes we’d achieved before. Owen discovered that the longer Gwen wore it more the glove was slowly draining the life from her and into Suzie; it was literally reversing the gunshot wound in her head and transferring it to Gwen. Then Gwen decided to sneak Suzie out of the Hub but before we could get out ourselves and follow them a level-four Hub lockdown was triggered and…” Blinking back tears, Tosh reached out and gripped Ianto’s hand tightly. “…by the time we got out it was too late. Suzie had drained the life from Gwen.”

 

Ianto bowed his head and mourned the loss of Gwen’s life; while they weren’t close and they certainly were never friends by any stretch of the imagination, Ianto would miss her. Gwen Cooper, one more epitaph to read, ‘Death by Torchwood’. “What happened to Suzie?”

 

“Jack tried, he really did, but he couldn’t bring himself to kill her so she sat in the cells for almost two weeks until he made his decision. He Retconned her, removing all of her memories of Torchwood, and then he set her up with a new life in Swansea. He wanted her close enough to keep a very close eye on her but still far enough away from Cardiff that her memory shouldn’t be triggered. Owen tweaked the Retcon formula and it’s now next to impossible to break it, but Jack didn’t want to take any chances.”

 

Ianto nodded with grudging approval of Jack’s judgement. He knew it couldn’t have been an easy choice for the leader; Suzie Costello had been Jack’ first hire when he’d been forced to create his own team at the New Year’s Eve tragedy. Ianto had been closer to Suzie than to Gwen, and despite hearing about her rather unexpected homicidal tendencies, he had a true admiration for her ability to reverse-engineer alien artefacts. Between the combined skills of Suzie and Toshiko, Torchwood had accomplished some true technological innovations.

 

“I’m sorry to hear about Gwen and Suzie, but I’m glad to see you’re all right.” Ianto squeezed Tosh’s hand gratefully. _‘I don’t know what I’d do if it had been Tosh instead of Gwen that Suzie killed.’_

 

Tosh smiled at her friend; she had a good idea what he was thinking and it warmed her heart. “In a funny – and I mean Torchwood funny, not ha-ha funny – it would seem that a piece of Gwen is still alive in Suzie. After Gwen’s memorial service, Rhys Williams decided to leave Cardiff; too many memories, he said, but I believe that it was because he wanted to get as far away from Torchwood as possible.”

 

“Can’t really blame him for that,” Ianto grinned ruefully. “After all, I crossed the pond to get away!”

“And yet I still found you.” Rolling her eyes at Ianto, Tosh smacked his hand. “Anyway, turns out he transferred to Harwood’s Swansea branch, she accidentally rear-ended his van, one thing led to another and they fell in love.” She noticed Ianto’s wide-eyed stare and giggled. “I know! Talk about weird coincidence and opposites attracting and all that, but from what I’ve seen of them they are pretty adorable together.” Tosh never thought they would work as a couple but in some strange way they did. “I wonder if somehow, Rhys knows that Gwen’s in there some place?” she mused quietly.

 

Ianto blinked as he processed Tosh’s news. Suzie was with Rhys? _‘Well, whatever floats their boat.’_ “I wish them the best of luck.” And Ianto found he truly meant it; he hoped that Suzie would treat Rhys the way he should have been all along. Finally, he gathered the courage to ask the one question that had been on his mind since he’d first laid eyes on Tosh on the command bridge, but he disguised his true purpose by saying, “So what about Owen and Jack?” He was dreading learning the truth about Jack’s fate because even though he was happy with Tony he would always have his what-if memories and fantasies with Jack.

 

Ianto watched a series of emotions appear and disappear in Tosh’s eyes and he knew it was going to be much tougher for Tosh to talk about their fates. Staring into the depths of her nearly empty coffee cup she began, “After the events with Suzie and Gwen we were all drifting aimlessly through our lives. You’d’ve thought that losing two more members of our team would have brought us closer together, but instead, the exact opposite happened. The only time Jack emerged from his office was to answer Rift calls, Owen started setting all-time records for drinking and shagging, and I…”

 

“It’s all right, Tosh, you don’t have to tell me,” Ianto could feel his friend’s pain and it hurt him to know that he hadn’t been there to help her.

 

Flashing a grateful smile at Ianto, Tosh drained her coffee cup. “Then the Sky Gypsy came through the Rift carrying a pilot and two passengers straight out of the 50’s. I was able to help the young girl, Emma; she’s in London now interning at a top design shop. Owen fell in love with the female pilot, Diane Holmes, but she couldn’t adjust to having her wings clipped, even temporarily until she could get a new license. She decided to take her chances and fly back into the Rift; she asked Owen to come with her and he said yes.”

 

“I am sorry, Tosh.” His words felt woefully inadequate; he knew Tosh had carried a torch for Torchwood’s snarky medic for years, but he was blind to her feelings and often flaunted his sexual conquests in her face.

 

“It’s all right, Ianto,” Tosh shrugged stoically. “My grandmother always told me that everything happens for a reason. So, that left Jack and I trying to deal with everything and then some and we had no idea what we should do. It was awful, I won’t lie. We were lucky that the stuff the Rift spit out after the Sky Gypsy was just odd bits of space trash, I guess is the best term for it, but the Weevils decided that it was party time and we were out every night for almost three weeks straight. I’m telling you, I was going out of my mind! Then one day the TARDIS arrived.”

 

Ianto’s breath caught in his throat and his stomach clenched. _Everyone_ at Torchwood knew about the legendary TARDIS; she was the Doctor’s vehicle, a ship capable of travelling through both space and time.  Rumour had it that she was actually a sentient being and that she and the Doctor shared a symbiotic relationship, although no one could back that claim up with any proof. In his heart, Ianto was happy for Jack; the Welshman knew how long the immortal had been waiting for the Doctor – _his_ Doctor – to return to Cardiff. “So Jack’s gone with the Doctor? Good for him; I’m glad, really. He’s been waiting a long time and it’s about time he was happy.”

 

Tosh shook her head emphatically, sending her dark hair flying in front of her face. “It wasn’t the Doctor, Ianto, it was you.”

 

“Huh?!” Ianto was unsure if he’d heard Tosh right. “What?”

 

“It wasn’t the Doctor, Ianto, it was _you.”_

 

“No, that’s not…” Ianto frowned, trying to wrap his mind around Tosh’s earthquake of an announcement. “I’ve been right here every single day since I left Cardiff. I think I’d know if I suddenly appeared in the middle of the Hub in the Doctor’s TARDIS!”

 

“Trust me, Jack and I were just as surprised as you are to see you come walking through the door. It took some time to explain but it turns out that he was an alternate universe Ianto who came through the Rift in the TARDIS. Through cataclysmic events, his world and all its inhabitants were lost to him. It was one of those moments when the Universe intervened and this other Ianto happened to be in the right place at the right time and he was rescued at the very last second by the Doctor – his version of the Doctor. With nothing else for him, he accepted an invitation to go travelling with the Time Lord and his Jack and they were very happy for quite a while but then the Universe stepped in again and he lost both of them at some place called Satellite Five.”

 

Tosh knew that no matter how long she lived, she would never forget the look of utter sadness and pure terror that flashed briefly in Jack’s eyes; it was obvious to her that somehow he knew what the other Ianto was talking about. “After Jack and the Doctor passed away, the TARDIS ended up sacrificing part of her life force to keep Ianto alive and after they’d floated around aimlessly in the time vortex for a while, she decided there was only one thing to do thing break them both out of a deep depression, so she brought him to this Universe to find his happy ending.”

 

“You said she gave up a piece of herself to Ianto – does that mean he’s immortal, like Jack?” There was a spark of hope in Ianto’s heart; from the moment Jack had told him about having to live forever, the only thing Ianto could think of was how unbearably lonely Jack was going to be, having everyone he would ever know and ever love die on him.

 

“I don’t know, he never said, at least not to me. If he is then I’m pleased for both of them. I guess you should know that once you left, Jack was never the same. It’s like you took something vital from him and he just slowly started fading away, so when this new Ianto arrived Jack was absolutely smitten with him. They connected from the very moment they met and the more time they spent together, the more Jack returned to his former self.”

 

A spike of pure envy ravaged its way through Ianto’s heart as he listened to Tosh’s story. He knew it was unreasonable to be jealous of his own self but he couldn’t help what he was feeling. _‘That should be me with Jack!’_ he thought and then immediately felt ashamed of himself. _‘I have Tony in my life now and I should just be satisfied that Jack’s as happy as I am.’_

 

Tosh hadn’t realised that Ianto had stopped listening to him and she was still talking as Ianto rejoined the conversation. “…I could see the longing in his eyes to join him in the TARDIS and travel the Universe again and I just couldn’t let him give up this chance. I knew that I was the one holding him back, that he wouldn’t abandon me so I contacted Director Fury. After they successfully recruited you, SHIELD approached me from time to time with an offer that I really wanted to accept but that I’d always turned down because I just couldn’t leave Jack. I owe that man my life in more ways than one.”

 

“Oh, Tosh,” Ianto couldn’t think of anything to say; he could see the pure emotions in her eyes. “I don’t think Jack would have minded you going; of all of us, I think you hold the sweetest spot in his heart.”

 

For a moment the Japanese computer genius was left speechless by Ianto’s words and tears welled up in her eyes. She stared at Ianto for a long minute before giving herself a shake. “Thank you for saying that, Ianto,” and the sincerity of her voice nearly brought Ianto to tears of his own.

 

His voice was husky as he told her, “I meant every word. Now, back to Jack and me…” a sudden thought crossed his mind. “Do you think that if we met, the other me and I, would the Universe explode or something?”

 

Tosh looked at him for a second and then started giggling. “No, it wouldn’t. He’s from an alternate universe so you wouldn’t be crossing your own timelines.”

 

“Huh,” Ianto nodded.

 

“Anyway, I got in touch with Director Fury and told him that if the job offer still existed, I would be very grateful to join his team. He told me I had one week to settle my affairs and Agent Sitwell would collect me at my flat. With one phone call, I had freed up Jack to go with his new Ianto. When I told him what I’d done, Jack practically squeezed the life out of me he hugged me so hard! When he’d stopped crying – I’d never seen him cry, Ianto, not when Gwen died, not even when you left – and he confessed that he’d been planning to transfer me to SHIELD since we lost Owen to the Rift. He didn’t say it, but I don't think he trusted himself to keep me safe any longer.”

 

Ianto was contemplating the idea of Jack in tears; _‘Did he cry over me?’_

 

“Jack closed down the Hub, secured the Archives and was at my flat waiting for Jasp…” Tosh blushed prettily. “…Agent Sitwell to arrive and the last time I saw him, he was waving at me from the TARDIS’ door as she vanished.”

 

“I’m glad he’s happy, Tosh. He’s been waiting almost two hundred years for the doctor to return and return him to the stars.” Ianto knew he sounded slightly poetic, but he didn’t care. He knew how many nights Jack spent atop the highest buildings in Cardiff, staring out into space, wondering when – if – he’d ever be going back.

 

"So what about you? Is it true you’re dating Tony Stark?" It was Tosh’s turn to ask the question she’d been dying to ask since she arrived.

 

Ianto wasn't at all surprised that Tosh knew about his relationship with Iron Man; between the gossip-mongering tabloids and the ratings-hungry entertainment news shows the fact that Tony was in a committed relationship with Ianto was big news and they were the focus of many stories. "Yes, it's true. I am in a relationship with Tony."

 

Tosh could see how the sparkle in Ianto's eyes that she knew far too well was never there during his time at Torchwood. "I'm happy for you, really truly happy for you."

 

A smile that lit up his eyes graced Ianto's face; it was one that Tosh had never seen before. "Thank you, Tosh, I am happy here and I know that you will be too.  I can't wait for you to meet Tony; you're going to get along famously."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Ianto had been right; Tosh and Tony did get along famously, mainly because Tony said that “Tosh is just as smart as I am and she can carry on a conversation with me that I don’t have to dumb down.”  Realising what he’d just said, he had looked at Ianto with enormous eyes. “No offense, Ianto!”

 

With a classic Ianto Jones eye roll, Ianto had merely punched him lightly in the shoulder and mouthed the single word, “Decaf.”

 

Tosh had read his lips and instantly burst into gales of laughter. No matter where he was, Ianto still used decaf coffee as a disciplinary tool.

 

Fury had assigned Tosh to work almost exclusively with Tony, often on projects with top level security clearance, although those were rare. Most of the time Tony never hesitated to share the progress of his work with his lover, although they never allowed the job to invade their bedroom; that space was sacred. The biggest thing Ianto didn't know about was the changes Tosh and Tony were making to the Iron Man suit.  They were developing a new feature that Tony was going to use to keep those he cared the most about safe, even if it meant sacrificing himself.

 

The opportunity to test out the new feature of his suit came sooner than Tony would have liked. Since the day they began their relationship Tony and Ianto had made it a rule that the weekends were just for them, at least when the world wasn't in danger.

 

When he’d first revealed to the world that he was Iron Man, Tony hadn't realised the danger he would be placing his loved ones in. Unfortunately, he’d continued to live in blissful ignorance until the very moment the rocket-propelled grenade slammed into the road just inches from back of the sports car he and Ianto were travelling in. The violent impact shattered the early morning peace and sent them swerving off the road. The car hit a rock, flipped onto its roof and then crashed into a large oak tree with a sickening crunch, sending them both slamming against their seatbelts.

 

"Get out of the car! Now!" Tony snarled as he reached over and unbuckled Ianto's seatbelt; he didn’t care about his own safety. All that mattered to him was getting Ianto away from the car before it exploded. "JARVIS, send out the Mark One!" Tony barked out his order as he bodily pushed Ianto out of the car through the shattered remains of the windshield and then watched him stumble several yards away. Only when he was sure that his lover was safe did he start work on freeing himself.

 

"It's on its way, Sir, and I have alerted SHIELD to the attack." JARVIS' disembodied voice promptly informed him and that was all Tony needed to hear before he was crawling out of the ruins of his car. Looking up to locate Ianto, it appeared that he was just in time to stop his lover, as it looked like Ianto was about to come back to the car.

 

As he lay in the grass trying to figure out where their attack had come from, he kept returning his attention to the crumpled metal wreck that had once been a beautiful sports car. “You’ve got ten seconds to get your happy arse out of there before I come and drag you out!” he yelled but there was no response. Ianto's heart remained in his throat and he was just climbing to his feet when he saw Tony came crawling out of the car. Staggering over to meet him, Ianto fell to his knees and anxiously examined the fallen man. "Tony! Are you all right?" Ianto demanded as he helped his lover move farther away from the car.

 

"I'm fine! What about you? Are you hurt anywhere?" Tony demanded in return as he looked Ianto over for any sign of injury.

 

Feeling a little safer once they’d put a good distance and a large boulder between themselves and the potential exploding vehicle, Ianto cupped Tony's face with his hands and pressed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'm okay, Tony."

 

Thankfully they weren't too far from their home and within minutes of the crash the familiar sound of the Iron Man suit's booster rockets filled the air. As the red and gold suit appeared before them, a very strange thing happened: instead of heading for Tony as it had done hundreds of times in the past and therefore should have done again, it flew straight towards Ianto.

 

"Tony, no! What about you?" Ianto cried out in panic even as the armour wrapped itself securely around him instead of Tony. “Please take this…”

 

Grateful beyond measure that the suit had responded like he‘d prayed it would, Tony shushed him with a wave of his hand. "I need to protect the one thing I can't live without, the one person that if I lost him would shatter me." Tony knew if it came down to protecting himself or saving Ianto’s life he was going to choose Ianto each and every time.

 

Ianto shook his head in distress. “Without the armour you’re completely vulnerable! Please, Tony, I can’t lose you!” Ianto pleaded with his lover.

 

“No, listen to me, Ianto,” Tony gripped Ianto’s glove-encased hand in his. “I love…”

 

Before either one of them could finish the argument a strangely haunting grinding noise filled the air as something seemed to surround both Ianto and Tony. As the structure became solid Ianto blinked in pure shock as he came face-to-face with his identical twin. The man was dressed in an outfit similar to the one Ianto had worn the night he’d first met Jack in ButePark. Glancing beyond his doppelganger, Ianto saw a figure rushing around the central control panel looking for all the world like he belonged there.

 

“Jack.” The single word escaped Ianto’s lips as a soft whisper of shocked wonder.

 

Giving himself a strong mental and physical shake, the pseudo-Iron Man turned his attention back to what mattered to him the most. "Tony," Ianto breathed out as he remembered what his lover had earlier. "Tony!" he cried when he saw Tony laying too still and too silently on the metal grate floor. He gently lifted Tony's head so it rested in his lap. "You stupid fool! Why would you do something so foolish as to give me your armour when you needed it!"

 

Grunting in pain as he realised his shoulder ached, Tony looked up at Ianto with an adorable pout on his face. "Is that any way to talk to the man who saved you?"

 

A mixture of choked sob and relieved laughter bubbled from Ianto's lips. "It is when that man puts himself in unnecessary danger. What were you thinking? I could have lost you, Cariad."

 

Tony shifted so he could look up at Ianto. "Just as I could have lost you and that’s not I could have survived. I need you in my life, Ianto Jones; you are the most important person in my world. I love you.”

 

“And I love you, too,” Ianto pressed his lips against Tony’s. “I love you.”

 

"I hate to interrupt this touching moment but there _are_ some bad guys trying to kill you.” Jack's bemused voice cut through the air, ending the moment before it could get out of hand.

 

"How did you get the suit to do this?" Ianto asked as he began removing the armour; he’d had plenty of practice getting Tony in and out of the suit made the task that much easier for Ianto to take it off.

 

Grasping Ianto's hand in his, Tony began moving the armour off to the side of the room. "Toshiko helped me, she is so brilliant and with her knowledge of alien tech and programming it wasn't hard for the two of us to whip something up that would allow you to call the suit to you. Remember how I asked you to always wear that watch I gave you for our anniversary?" Tony waited until Ianto nodded his head and raised his sleeve to reveal the watch strapped to his wrist. "Yeah, well, that has a chip in it that will signal to any of the suits when you're in danger. Wherever you are, it will find you and come to your location."

 

Tony pressed his fingers to Ianto's lips when it was clear the Welshman was going to argue with him. "I know you’re upset with me and I understand that but I need to keep you safe and if you even _think_ of giving back me back that watch I will find some other way of chipping you and you know I’ll get Tosh to help me."

 

Ianto knew that he was facing a battle he wasn't going to win. "This isn't over by a long shot," Ianto warned. “We’ll discuss this when we get home.”

 

Despite the sinking feeling that ‘discuss’ was Ianto-speak for decaf, Tony refused to budge from his position. _‘I can’t go on living if Ianto doesn’t live as well.’_

 

On the other side of the TARDIS the alternate Ianto was studying his twin. "So that's the other me?” He nodded with grudging approval. “I can see why you would’ve fallen for him and I don't mean that just because he's my alternate self." There was a strength to this Ianto, one that had been born in battle and had continued to grow with every challenge and hardship the young Welshman had managed to overcome. The alternate Ianto was impressed that throughout it all, his twin hadn’t lost himself or his ability to love.

 

_‘If anything, I’d say his capacity to love is what’s kept him alive and sane all these years.’_

 

Jack shook his head affectionately and reached out to grasp his Ianto's hand, bringing it to his lips for a quick kiss. "I’ll admit that I will always have this what-if feeling about that Ianto but at the same time I know that nothing could have come of it. We hurt each other so deeply, almost cruelly, and,” Jack’s eyes filled with remorse, “I’m ashamed to admit that I failed him when he needed me the most.”

 

His Ianto pulled Jack into a comforting hug and murmured, “I’m sure you did your best, Cariad,” unwittingly using the same affectionate term that the old Ianto had spoken to Jack once or twice. With his arms around Jack, he didn’t see the wince of pain flash across the older man’s face.

 

“It would have taken a lot of time and work for the two of us to find our way past everything and to one another, plus there was the whole Gwen factor.”

 

“The what?” Now Ianto was confused. “The dead woman? Don’t tell me you’re into necrophilia?” He pulled back and stared at Jack.

 

“Don’t be silly, Yan,” Jack chuckled. “Even Jack Harkness draws the line somewhere! No, when Ianto was with us I wasn't subtle in my wish to bed Gwen Cooper – in fact, it even played a part in why I hired her in the first place. I'm ashamed to say that when she joined the team I let Ianto slip even further into the shadows. I was such a fool when it came to her, Yan, and I knew even then that I was hurting my team so deeply by favouring Gwen over them all. I let her get away with everything; she came in later most of the time, she was insubordinate, argumentative, and incredibly manipulative.”

 

Ianto frowned and leaned back against the console. “I will admit that doesn’t sound like the Jack Harkness I’ve come to know and love.”

 

For a moment, Jack’s eyes shown with joy; “I love you too, Ianto,” he answered softly. “But the worst part was the way she treated Ianto, as if he were something she needed to scrape of the bottom of her shoe and I’m ashamed to say I did nothing to change that behaviour.” Jack’s shoulders slumped in defeat, “No, there was just too much between us for us to ever work."

 

Leaning over and pressing a kiss onto his lover's lips Jack gently stroked his Ianto's cheek and when he spoke again, his voice was thick with emotion. "Besides I’ve found someone better, the one person in the Universe I’ll _never_ have to lose. I love you, Ianto, with all my heart and I hope you never doubt that." Jack didn't want his lover to wonder about his place in his heart.

 

His Ianto smiled sweetly and pressed his hand to Jack’s chest, right over his heart. "I'm not jealous of what could have been, Cariad, and I don't doubt your love for me, not at all. I am thankful every single day that the TARDIS brought me here to you, because without you I don't think I would have survived losing my Jack and my Doctor. You have healed me just as much as I healed you.” Ianto pulled Jack into to the vee of his spread legs and caressed his back, feeling the tense muscles beneath his shirt. “The past is behind us and it’s going to stay that way. Now it's time we started looking towards our future, our future together; we're going to live for a very, very long time and it won't do us any good to let old regrets weigh us down."

 

Rays of pure love beamed from Jack’s eyes as he looked at his Ianto. “I like the sounds of that,” he murmured as he closed the distance between their lips and began kissing his immortal lover as if their lives depended on it.

 

A cough broke the moment and as they fought to catch their breath and calm their passion, they turned to see Tony now fully dressed as Iron Man and Ianto standing next to him. "I hate to interrupt this touching moment but there aren’t there some bad guys trying to kill you?” Tony grinned wickedly as he quoted Jack. "Actually, I guess I should say they’re trying to kill _me_ , so as much as I hate to ruin this touching moment I do have some bad guy ass to kick!"

 

With a regretful smile to Jack, the other Ianto shook his head as he turned to the main monitor above the console and flipped the power switch. Indicating the scene playing out beyond the TARDIS’ doors, he announced, "No need, Iron Man, they’ve already been captured by SHIEILD. Apparently they aren't very smart bad guys since the Black Widow and Hawkeye easily took them down.” and He nodded towards the ship’s front door. “You two now have a few worried people waiting for you."

 

Behind his helmet Tony's eyebrow lifted in surprise. "Well that's convenient. I guess there’s nothing left to say but thanks for the lift." 

 

Ianto stepped out from behind Tony and moved towards his former boss. "Thank you, Jack, for saving us. I don't know what I would have done if I’d lost Tony." Ianto placed a gentle kiss on Jack's cheek as both a thank you and a final farewell. In his heart Ianto knew that this was the last time he would ever lay eyes on Captain Jack Harkness and he felt the prick of unexpected tears sting his eyes. Despite the pure and enduring love he felt for Tony, Ianto felt sorrow that his first love had never been fully realised.

 

Reading the emotions in Ianto’s eyes, Jack pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m sorry I let you down, Ianto. You’ll always have a special place in my heart and I will _never_ forget you.” His voice was a soft whisper in Ianto’s ear as he said, “I’ll always love you.”

 

“And I you, Jack.” Ianto buried his face in Jack’s neck and took in one last deep breath, savouring the scent of the mysterious pheromones that were uniquely Jack. Pulling back, he smiled and said, “Have a wonderful life, Captain Jack Harkness.”

 

“Actually, you should be thanking the TARDIS; she brought us here at just the right moment. I think she likes you,” he joked weakly. Jack swallowed hard as he smiled back at Ianto. "You're very welcome, Ianto, for everything. I have to admit I have missed your coffee…” there was a loud cough behind him and Jack hastily qualified his statement with, “but _my_ Ianto’s coffee is simply divine and I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate every single drop.” He turned around and gave his Ianto his biggest, cheesiest, most irresistible ‘I’m-too-sexy-for-you-to-be-mad-at-me’ smile. 

 

“Oh, nice save there, Jack!” Tony chortled. “Very smooth!” He saw the way his Ianto was frowning at him and he shrugged. “I’m just saying…!”

 

“Ignore him, Jack,” Ianto smiled fondly at his lover. “I do.”

 

Jack looked at Ianto, memorising his features; he knew they were exactly the same as his Ianto’s but he couldn’t help himself. “I'm happy you’ve found a piece of the happiness that Torchwood robbed you of. Take care of yourself, Jones, Ianto Jones."

 

"You too, sir." Ianto smiled one last time at Jack before turning away and heading for Tony who was waiting for him with open arms.

 

As Jack watched Ianto move away from him and towards Tony, his heart felt lighter but there was still a bitter sweetness that ruined his good mood. Despite knowing that he had eternity to spend with his Ianto, Jack knew that he would always have this ‘what could have been’ feeling whenever he thought of Jones, Ianto Jones.

 

Sensing his lover’s melancholy, his Ianto slipped his hand into his and effectively pushed those thoughts away. Yes, it was true, Jack had he lost his chance with this particular Ianto, but given the deep roots of hurt and betrayal between them, ones that he doubted either man would have been able to get over, they would never have found their way to one another. Ianto said nothing, his comforting presence enough for Jack. _‘Everything happens for a reason, Cariad, even heartache.’_

 

_‘I hope you’re happy in your new life, Ianto, and I hope you have a long one with Tony.’_ Jack kept his gaze on Ianto until he and Tony were out of sight and the TARDIS’ doors had closed behind them before turning his gaze onto his Ianto. Love overflowed his heart and filled his eyes as he stared at the man he planned on sharing the millennia of his immortal life with. “Let’s go home,” Jack said as he brushed his lips gently across his Ianto’s mouth.

 

With those three simple words, Jack let his lover know that there was nothing left for him here; it was time to move on from old regrets and start building a future with the man he loved. He sent out one last prayer to the Universe that Ianto did the same, because if anyone deserved to be happy it was Ianto Jones.

 

With the sound of the TARDIS’ doors closing behind him, Ianto laid rest to his past, and he was mildly surprised to find that it didn’t hurt as much as he expected. Strolling away at Tony's side Ianto linked his fingers with his lover’s and smiled at at the man behind the mask, thrilled to feel the cool touch of steel against his skin. "Let's go home, Cariad," Ianto whispered; all he wanted to do was curl up in Tony's arms and forget this day ever happened.

 

"Sounds like a plan." Tony lifted up his helmet so he could press a kiss against Ianto's mouth.

 

"Hey," Jack's voice suddenly called out and startled apart, the two lovers turned to face him. Jack stood in the ship’s doorway with a serious look face as he glared daggers at Tony. "You take good care of him and treat him the way he should be treated, otherwise Iron Man or not, there will be no place for you to hide," the immortal threatened with deadly seriousness.

 

"I have no plans on ever letting Ianto go. He is the most important person in my life and I would die for him.” Tony’s serious demeanour matched Jack’s perfectly as he returned the vow. “And the same could be said for you, Captain, you take good care of your own Ianto or we’ll see how you stand up against my armours."

 

Standing next to their two posturing mates in silent support, two  identical pairs of blue eyes met with perfect understanding and in unison they shared an eye roll as their alpha males growled and glared at one another.

 

"I think it's time we get out here before Tosh and Natasha find a way to get into the TARDIS and start trying to find out what makes her tick," Ianto pointed out, although he knew that it didn't matter if she was a Time Machine. If those two determined women put their heads together there was nothing and no one that could stop them.

 

Both Tony and Jack winced at Ianto's warning. "Right, I do like having my arms and legs, not to mention other more delicate body parts, still attached to my person, so let's before they get here!” With great gentleness Tony clutched Ianto's hand in his metal one and led Ianto away from the TARDIS.

 

Glancing back over his shoulder, Ianto favoured Jack with one final smile before turning his gaze to Tony and wrapping his arm around his lover’s waist.

 

As the sound of the TARDIS’ engines faded away, Ianto found himself stumbling back as Tosh and Natasha both threw themselves at him. "Thank goodness you're both all right! When JARVIS alerted us that you were in trouble I thought the worst," Tosh whispered as tears filled her eyes.

 

"Oh sure, just ignore me. It’s not like I was just nearly killed as well," Tony grumbled under his breath although his complaint was mellowed by the slight twinkle in his eyes.

 

Joining the group, Clint wrapped his arm around Tony's metal shoulders. "Hey, it's the three-piece suit and the tie, the accent and the whole sweet boy thing he’s got going on that draws the women to protecting him," Clint pointed out.

 

Tony had to admit that the archer had a point; all the women at SHEILD, including Pepper, seemed drawn to mothering Ianto.

 

Tosh couldn’t resist adding, “Plus, his coffee has us completely under his spell!”

 

When Tony opened his mouth to comment, Ianto shot his lover a look that promised decaf for the foreseeable future and when Tony winced and snapped his mouth shut, Ianto returned his attention back to the women who still held him in their arms. "We're both okay, ladies. The TARDIS arrived just in time for Jack and the other me to save us," Ianto soothed his friends.

 

"That is going to be an interesting story," Tosh murmured to herself; she knew there had been a lot left unsaid between Ianto and Jack.

 

"Are you all right? Do I have to kill him?" Natasha demanded her eyes flickering to the where the blue box had once been.

 

Ianto shook his head. "No. It was interesting to say the least and a little odd meeting another me. But, I needed it as final closure to my old life.” Separating himself from Tosh and Natasha, Ianto put his arms around Tony and looked deeply into his eyes. “It didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would to know that my past with Torchwood is truly over. I know that my place, my _home,_ is here with all of you and I wouldn't change that for the world," Ianto promised them all. His gaze never left Tony's as he spoke, and he hoped that his lover could see the pure truth in his eyes. _‘This is where_ _I belong; you are my_ _family_ _and my future.’_

 

A weight Tony didn't know he was carrying lifted from his heart as he heard Ianto's words; he’d been a little worried that Ianto might going with Jack and the other Ianto.

 

"Great, so brother, does this mean you'll make us some coffee?" Clint favoured Ianto with his best pleading, ‘I-am- _so-_ desperate’ look.

 

As one Ianto, Natasha and Tosh all rolled their eyes while Tony just copied Clint's look. Giving in to the inevitable Ianto suggested, "Why don't you track down Phil and invite Pepper and Jasper to join us and we'll all hit the fair."

 

Tony and Clint's eyes lit up like it was Christmas come early and both men rushed off to do Ianto’s bidding while Natasha shot Ianto a look of fond exasperation. "You do know they’re going to be like four-year-olds on a sugar rush later one,” she pointed out patiently, “and they will more than likely find some kind of trouble."

 

Ianto shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, but we wouldn't have them any other way." Always the gentleman, he offered his arms to Natasha and Tosh.

 

“Just making sure you know what you’re letting yourself in for,” Natasha declared as she slipped her arm into Ianto's. "And I want lots of goodies when we get there."

 

A mischievous smile appeared on Ianto's face as he happily informed them, "Don't worry, Tony, will be paying for everything."

 

Laughing Tosh linked her arm with Ianto's as well. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go have some fun putting a dent in Tony's wallet!"

 

Ianto knew that no matter what troubles might come in his future _‘I will never regret choosing this path.’_ Thanks to his new friends, family and especially Tony he had managed to put the ghosts of Torchwood behind him. His future stretched out before him and as long as he had the others by his side Ianto know knew he could face whatever was to come.

 

The End


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